The Ending of a Time Lords Era
by loulouflowerpower
Summary: 10/OC-Time Lady. The Doctor and the Hatter have been engaged for a year, but now that Donna's left, will they ever have their wedding? And what will they do when the Master returns? And, perhaps just as worrying, what is all this talk they keep hearing concerning a possible goodbye…
1. Chapter 1 The Next Doctor, Part 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, or any of its character, I only own my OC Time Lady, the Hatter.**_

_**This if the fourth instalment of the series, so I suggest that if you are just finding this one now that you go back and read the first three instalments first. Any questions, feel free to PM or ask, and I'll be more than happy to answer them…if I can.**_

_**Now, the Hatter is in her Tenth regeneration. She has straight blonde hair with a side fringe, baby blue eyes, stands around 5'9 in height, has quite pale skin, high cheek bones, and has a Scottish accent.**_

_**And she usually always wears on a day to day bases a plain white button up shirt, military green leather trousers that she has tucked into a pair of brown, lace up riding boots with a small heel that come to just below her knees, a military style green brass button up waistcoat, a rainbow bowtie, and matching rainbow braces, not to mention her military green Pork-Pie hat. She also wears a silver pendent with Gallifreyan markings on it at all times and an engagement ring with a single rounded White-Point Star diamond sitting in the middle of the band that's also covered all around with smaller, White-Point Stars.**_

_**Anyway, on with the story :)**_

_**The Next Doctor, Part 1.**_

The Hatter sighed…or as much as she could sigh in her current outfit that the Doctor had somehow managed to talk her into wearing. She blamed it on the puppy dog eyes he gave her, something that she would never admit to actually having any effect on her, and the promise of wearing a top hat for their wedding, something she had been trying to get him to agree to for months without too much successes.

She titled her head as she looked at her reflection in the mirror and had to stop herself from storming out of the room and smacking the back of the Doctor's head for getting her to agree, but she knew that it would be no use. He would simply whine at her and she would end up smacking him again. In any case, he would still end up whining, and he could whine worse than a three year old.

The outfit he had managed to talk her into wearing was a Victorian style dress with a dark purple full skirt that went all the way to the floor, over the top of half a dozen annoying, frilly petticoats that she was forced to wear, and little ruffles going around the bottom of it, a lavender coloured bodice with long sleeves, high neck, and matching purple buttons that went up the front of it. Her hair was up in a Victorian style bun, parted down the middle with a braid going around the crown of her head while little curls hung around the side of her face.

She had decided to keep her usual boots, since they already matched the time period as it was, and they were mostly covered up by the skirts, and…she knew it was cheating, but she honestly couldn't care less, she had kept her usual trousers on, just so that if they ended up climbing ladders or tripping over (both being quite likely), she wouldn't have to worry about showing off everything. She knew that she should have been wearing a pair of stockings, but they really wouldn't have helped save her from embarrassment. Her engagement ring and pendent were staying, of course, even though neither suited the period, and she had replaced her hat with a dark purple bonnet with a feather on it, and long silk ribbons to tie under her chin, and to top it all off, a pair of rounded, silver hanging earrings.

And she felt ridicules just looking at her reflection with so much fabric surrounding her legs that she knew from past experience was going to make things hard to run, and the tight corset that was currently reducing her already small waist a good couple of inches less, making it almost feel as if she was being squizzed by a large snake…not a very pleasant thought, she realised.

There was just so much fabric and bits of frilly things that she personally thought that she probably resembled a great, big purple cupcake. She was so going to get the Doctor back for this, she didn't quite know how she was going to do that yet, maybe she would get Jack to take him on that pre-wedding party thing that she knew that the Doctor would hate, since she could already imagine the type of clubs they would end up in.

The Doctor almost had a small coughing fit when he accidently walked inside her bedroom only last week when she was wearing a bathrobe and nothing else. The bathrobe had been completely closed and went down to her knees and he still almost scrambled out of the room as if he had been told he was going to live with the Daleks for a month, blushing a rather amusing but unpleasant red colour as he did so.

Honestly, she had no idea what he was going to do when they got married and started sharing a bedroom…or the wedding night. Oh, dear, now she was blushing. Still, she guessed that he…well, both of them would get used to such things, at the moment it was still just a little awkward and new for them, since they had been friends for so many years, it wasn't as if they would be able to simply get over old habits.

"Hatter?" the Doctor's voice called through the closed door, knocking a couple of times, "Have you finished yet?" he asked, a touch of a whine entering his voice.

The Time Lady rolled her eyes, feeling tempted to start lecturing him on just how long it took to put an outfit like this one on, but knew that he wouldn't understand it, not really. He may have been a Time Lord with a very good understanding of the workings of the Universe, on time travel, and many number of other things that most wouldn't have a clue about at all, but he was still such a man. He probably wouldn't even be able to tell her the difference between a petticoat and a slip. Even she hated to admit that she knew what the difference was, and she was a woman…well, Time Lady.

"Yes, coming," she shook her head and walked over to the door, throwing it open to find the Doctor leaning against the opposite wall, his hands stuck in his pockets. He hadn't bothered to change out of his usual brown suit, and she only just stopped herself from making a comment about it, "Happy?" she asked, making sure that he could hear the annoyance in her tone as she made a sweeping gesture down her front.

The Doctor paused, his eyes widening as he looked her up and down, his mouth falling open slightly, "You…" he coughed, a touch of pink colouring his cheeks as she raised an eyebrow at him, "…look stunning," he finally settled on.

"If I was a cupcake for a six year old girl's birthday party, perhaps," the Hatter replied, rolling her eyes slightly, but she couldn't help a smile spreading across her face.

"You think you look like a cupcake?" he blinked at her before grinning broadly at her, "Well, good thing I like cupcakes," he grabbed her hand, lifting it up and placing a kiss on it before he was off, gently pulling her along with him down the hallway.

"Sweetheart, are you going to tell me exactly what we're doing today?" she asked curiously as they reached the console room and stopped at the doors, his hand on the door handle as he glanced back at her, his brown eyes sparkling with excitement.

"What's wrong, don't you trust me?"

"With your past history of solo driving and trying to surprise me, I would be a fool not to feel a little nervous. Wasn't the last time you did that we ended up in Pompeii?"

The Doctor sniffed, pretending to look offended, "Volcano day's not going to happen this time," he informed her, sounding so sure of himself that she almost believe him. Almost, "Anyway, come on!" he grinned broadly again, throwing open the doors, linking his arm through hers, putting on an almost arrogant tone, "Shall we, my Dame Hatter?"

Unable to stop herself, the Hatter smiled and gave him a mock curtsey, which actually worked well with the outfit, "Oh, my Lord Doctor, how could I refuse?" she pretended to gasp, making her voice higher the normal.

They stepped outside and found themselves seeming to have parked under a stone bridge with straw and snow that had blown in from both sides of the small tunnel that they were in scattered on the ground, snow still clearly falling outside. Real, proper snow, and as the Hatter caught sight of it, her eyes lit up, and her smile turned into a full blown grin as she turned to the Doctor and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, this is brilliant!" she laughed, delighted as he grinned broadly back at her, slowly pulling apart as they looked back out at the snow.

"Do you forgive me for the dress?" he asked hopefully.

She paused and cast him a long, thoughtful look, "Hmm…almost…" she said after a moment, "But there are quite a number of petticoats under this skirt…"

"So, not even_ real_ snow can make up for petticoats?"

"Doctor, I'm currently wearing _six _very frilly petticoats under this skirt just so that this bloody thing looks so full. Real snow only makes up for two of them, possibly only one if I end up tripping, which I probably will".

"Good thing I didn't take you to the 18th century France," the Doctor sighed, thinking about how upset she would have been having to wear one of those even bigger and wider skirts that most woman had to turn sideways just to walk through a door.

The Hatter's eyes widen with horror at the very idea as she looked at him sharply, "Don't even talk about it!" she hissed at him, her hand going to rest on her hip, wincing at the very thought of wearing one of those dresses…again. It was bad enough that one time she wore one, she would not do it again, "I almost tripped down a marble staircase at a French ball and meet my Fifth regeneration a couple of years early, " she told him, "If Michael hadn't grabbed my arm and yanked me back…" she trailed off, shuddering.

The Doctor put his arm around her, pulling her closer to his side…or as close as the skirt would allow. He really was starting to regret that dress now, "Remind me to shake his hand out our wedding," he remarked seriously as he began to led her out of the tunnel and into falling snow, both breaking into grins again as they looked around.

It was a busy market street that they had managed to stumble across, people wondering around everywhere, woman wearing similar dresses to the Time Lady's as they looked at the items that the market stalls had out for offer, along with men in Victorian dress, and even children running around. There also seemed to be quite a bit of garlands and ribbons decorating the place.

"Good afternoon," a policemen in a top hat greeted them as they passed by, tapping his hat.

"Afternoon to you too!" the Hatter smiled back at him as they continued making their way through the market place, looking around at all the stalls as they passed.

"What do you think?" the Doctor asked, looking at her taking in everything with a huge smile.

"It's wonderful, sweetheart," she replied, looking as if she was about to start jumping up and down on the spot, but was only just containing herself, "It's beautiful. I always tend to forget that about the Victorian era and just think about all the industrial aspects of it, about how the poor children were forced into workhouses, and about the class system divided between the wealthy and the poor, but there was good parts of it," she smiled as she looked up at him.

"Ah, but you still have that reformist spark in your eyes," he commented, smiling fondly.

"Of course. Just because I may be able to see past the bad, doesn't mean that I forget all the injustice that is still going on in this time".

"No wonder you and I make such a good pair," the Doctor laughed as they continued on their way, pausing to listen to a group of carollers.

"Oh, tidings of comfort and joy," they sang together, "Comfort and joy. Oh, tidings…"

The Doctor smiled before he glanced over at a market stall, "You there, boy," he called to a boy with curly brown hair as they approached him, "What day is it?"

"Christmas Eve, sir," he replied.

"What year?"

"You thick or something?" the boy frowned at him.

"Oi!" the Doctor raised his eyebrows at him as the Hatter chocked back a laugh, looking highly amused.

"You're quite cheeky, aren't you?" the Time Lady smiled at the boy, looking almost approving as she leaned closer to towards him, giving him a wink, "That's a good thing, never lose that cheekiness or life will be awfully boring, yes?"

"Ah, Hatter, I don't think that's what adults are supposed to say," the Doctor whispered in her ear as she straightened.

"Well, good thing that I'm still a child trapped inside an adult body, then," the Hatter replied, completely serious.

"Anyway," he cleared his throat, shaking his head as he turned back to the boy, "The year?"

The boy sighed, "The year of our Lord 1851, sir".

"Right," he nodded, turning away from the boy, "Nice year. Bit dull".

"Good thing we're here, then," the Hatter grinned at him, making him grin back in return.

"Doctor!" suddenly, a woman's voice shouted from somewhere, making them look around in surprise, trying to see were the voice came from, "Doctor!"

"Who, me?" the Doctor asked aloud, raising his eyebrows as he and the Hatter exchanged a look.

"Goodness, it would seem that your reputation has grown to an even larger scale than ever before," the Time Lady commented, pretending to sigh, "Well, that's certainly not going to help your already massive ego," she shook her head, grabbing his hand, "Come on!"

They turned and ran off in the direction of the shout, the Time Lady muttering curses under her breath as she grasped a handful of her skirt to make it easier to run. They turned a corner into an alley were a young, dark skinned woman in a red dress with a white blouse backing away from a metal door, looking rather nervous as something banged against it from the inside.

"Doctor!" she shouted again, her voice urgent.

"Don't worry, don't worry!" the Doctor told the woman as they reached her, the Hatter grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the way of the door, "Stand back! What have we got here? Ooh," a loud growling sound meet them from behind the doors as more banging continued, "Okay, we've got this," he glanced back at the woman, "Whatever's behind that door, I think you should get out of here".

"Yes, whatever it is certainly doesn't seem to be in a very good mood," the Hatter agreed, eyeing the shaking doors with a frown.

"Doctor!" the woman ignored them both, shouting again, looking back towards the way they had come.

"No, no," the Doctor frowned, "I'm standing right here," he gave her a wave, "Hello".

"Don't be stupid," the woman glared at him, looking at him as if he was insane as the Hatter blinked, trying to work out exactly what was going on, "Who are you?" she demanded.

"_I'm_ the Doctor," he replied.

"Doctor who?"

"Just…the Doctor".

"Well, there can't be two of ya," the woman rolled her eyes, looking annoyed when a man suddenly appeared, running towards them, dressed in Victorian clothing, "Where the hell have you been?" she shouted at him.

"Right, then," the man called as he reached them, the Time Lords blinked, looking at him in confusion, "Don't worry! Stand back," he lightly moved the Doctor and the Hatter out of the way, focusing on the doors, "What have we got here, then?"

"Ah…is anyone else feeling confused?" the Hatter asked aloud, looking around, frowning.

"I know the feeling," the Doctor nodded, eyeing the new man, "Hold on, hold on," he frowned at him, "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," the man replied proudly, turning to them as both Time Lords eyes widened in shock as they stared at him, "Simply the Doctor. The one, the only, and the best," he gave them a wink, looking at the woman, "Rosita, give me the sonic screwdriver".

"The what?" the Time Lords gaped, looking to slowly as the woman, Rosita, passed something to the…well, to the man who was apparently the Doctor. A future him, anyway.

"Now quickly, get back to the TARDIS," he continued to Rosita.

"Back to the what?" the Doctor asked, narrowing his eyes, still quite shocked.

"Stand back, sir, ma'am," the Next Doctor ignored there questions, flashing them a bright smile as he lightly moved them a step back, "This is a job for a Time Lord".

"Job for a what Lord?" he asked, his eyes still wide as he leaned towards the man, when the door suddenly burst open, causing them to reel back as a black, furry creature with a Cyberman-like face appeared, growling at them, "Oh, that's different," he reached inside his pocket for his sonic.

At the same time, the Next Doctor said, "Oh, that's new".

"And this is really starting to freak me out," the Hatter remarked quietly, her eyes wide as she looked back and forth between the two men before she shook herself and focused on the creature, titling her head curiously at it, "Oh, how interesting".

Both men…well, Time Lords pointed there screwdrivers at the creature, "Allons-y!" they both called in unison, glancing at each other sideways when they realised what they had done.

"I've been hunting this beast for a good fortnight," the New Doctor informed them, trying to move the Doctor out of the way, "Now step back, sir".

The creature suddenly leaped over them and clung onto the wall of the building behind them as they all ducked.

"It's definitely a Cybermen conversion," the Hatter commented as she straightened, taking a step closer towards the building, staring up at the creature, "A rather primitive one, probably the brain of a cat or dog," she frowned, looking rather sad, "Poor things".

"Well, talking's all very well," the New Doctor glanced at her, seeming surprised by her apparent knowledge, "Rosita?"

"I'm ready," the woman replied, jogging back to his side with a large coil of thick, strong looking rope in her hands, handing it to him.

The man took the rope, grinning, "Now, watch and learn!" he said as he began swinging the end of the rope around his head like a lasso, making the Doctor lean further away, ducking slightly to avoid being hit. With a cry, he let go of the end and it caught around the creatures head, "Excellent," he remarked happily, "Now then, let's pull this timorous beastie down to Earth".

He tugged at the rope, wrapping it around his arm to get a better, stronger grip on it when the creature suddenly began climbing up the wall of the building, pulling him along with it as if he weighed nothing.

"Oh, dear," the Hatter sighed, shaking her head, "Well, it's nice to see that you're still an idiot," she glanced at her Doctor beside her.

"Or not," the Doctor remarked, staring up at him, silently agreeing with the Time Lady.

"I might be in a little trouble," the New Doctor called back to them as he was continued to be dragged.

"Nothing ever changes," the Time Lady rolled her eyes slightly, looking more fond then anything.

The Doctor sighed and stepped forward, "I've got you!" he called up to him, grabbing hold of the rope…only to end up being dragged right up the building, too.

"You idiots!" Rosita shouted after them, annoyed.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," the Hatter told the other woman, sounding amused as she looked back up at the two men being dragged up the side of the building.

"Perhaps you could pull?" the New Doctor suggested down to the Doctor.

"I _am_ pulling!" the Doctor replied, glancing back down at the ground where he could see the Hatter, "In this position, I couldn't _not_ pull, could I?"

The creature reached a window at the top of the building and leaped through, disappearing from sight. The Hatter winced as she suddenly realised what was probably going to happen now and began looking around, when she caught sight of an axe that someone had left behind. She grinned as she ran over to it, grabbing hold of it, and ran as fast as she could in her dress, one hand grasping a handful of fabric so she wouldn't trip…too much, at least, as she ran up a set of stairs that she noticed run into the building, Rosita right on her heels.

"Then I suggest that you let go, sir," the New Doctor called back down to the Doctor as they simply hung there.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight, Doctor," the Doctor told him, frowning, "Don't you recognise me? And what about the Hatter? You've got to recognise her…"

"No, should I?" the man replied, looking back down at him, "Have we met? This is hardly the right time for me to go through my social calendar…argh!"

The creature suddenly began moving again, pulling the two man along with it, racing across the warehouse floor, causing them to cry out in surprise and pain, dust billowing up around them.

"It's gonna jump!" the Doctor shouted, spotting the creature running towards an open window ahead of them, his eyes wide.

The Hatter darted into the room, ignoring the uncomfortable way her corset was digging into her, cursing quite violently in Gallifreyan that would have earned her a startled look from the Doctor as she tripped over the edge of her blasted skirt, almost sending herself crashing face first into the floor before she managed to right herself, still grasping tightly to the axe as she forced herself to run faster.

"We're gonna fall!" the New Doctor cried.

And just at the last moment, the Hatter reached the window and swung the axe, cutting the rope in half. Both Doctor's stumbled at the sudden stop, tumbling over ungracefully, groaning and wincing as the Hatter, panting for breath, dropped the axe and leant heavily against the wall.

"Oh, I am going to bloody kill you, Doctor," she gasped painfully, covering her face with her hands, "And I'm going to do it with my bear hands. It would be so, so easy to just give you a little shove into a passing black hole, or…or 'accidently' slip something into you tea…"

The Doctor and the Next Doctor, still groaning and wincing, began climbing slowly back to their feet, grabbing painfully at their wrists and back. They looked at each other and broke into mad laughter, hugging each other before the Doctor let him go and walked over to the Hatter, flashing her a smile, "Still planning my murder?" he asked teasingly.

She shot him a dark look, regaining the ability to be able to breath properly again, "You're lucky I got here save you two idiots lives in the first place," she informed him, annoyed as she smacked his arm, causing him to wince, "This damn dress kept getting in the way and I'm lucky that I'm a Time Lady, or else I probably would have feinted from lack of oxygen because of this corset!"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor tried soothing her temper, giving her a small smile, "And we're both very grateful for saving us. Thank you, my dear".

"You had better be, sweetheart," she muttered, casting him one final dark look.

….

As they headed back outside the stairs, Rosita glared angrily at both Doctors, "Well, I'm glad you think it's so funny," she snapped at them as they continued chuckling, "You're mad! Both of you. You could've got killed!"

"But evidently we did not," the New Doctor replied calmly, still looking amused as they reached the bottom of the stairs, "Oh, I should introduce Rosita," he seemed to remember suddenly that he hadn't properly introduced them to her as the woman rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest, "My faithful companion," he smiled, glancing at them, "Always telling me off".

"Well, they do, don't they?" the Doctor grinned, earning a raised eyebrow look from the woman, "Rosita," he repeated, nodding, "Good name. Hello, Rosita," he wrapped an arm around the Hatter, "This is my fiancé, the H…"

"Hattie," the Hatter quickly corrected him, shooting him a look before she flashed Rosita and the Next Doctor a friendly smile, "But most call me the Hatter".

"The Hatter?" the Next Doctor repeated, frowning slightly, eyeing her, "Strange, I could have sworn that I once knew someone who went by such a name," he remarked, the Time Lords exchanged looks, before he seemed to shake himself and smiled at her, "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Hattie".

"Please, just Hattie," she told him, hating having to use formalities.

"Now I'll have to go and dismantle the traps," Rosita huffed at the Next Doctor, shaking her head as the Time Lords watched on in amusement, "All that for nothing. And we've only got twenty minutes till the funeral, don't forget," the Time Lords raised a curious eyebrow as she turned and began walking away, calling back, "Then back to the TARDIS, right?"

"Funeral?" the Doctor asked, turning to the Next Doctor.

"Oh, long story," the other man replied, trying to wave them off as he rubbed his shoulder, "Not my own, not yet," he grimaced as he bent, stretching, "Ooh, I'm not as young as I was".

"Well, not as young as you were when you were me".

The other man frowned, glancing up at him, "When I was who?"

The Doctor glanced at the Hatter, frowning, "You really don't recognise me?" he asked, his smile fading, "Not even the Hatter?"

"Not at all," he shook his head, a frown crossing his face, "And the Hatter…well, as I said, I thought the name sounds vaguely familiar," he shrugged.

"But you're the Doctor," the Doctor said slowly, still frowning as he looked him up and down, feeling quite worried that he didn't seem to remember who the Hatter was. She had played a massive part of his life, he couldn't imagine what not having her in his life would be like, so it was extremely alarming to think that his future self might not know her. And if he didn't know her, then were was she? "The Next Doctor," he continued, "Or the next but one. A future Doctor, anyway…"

"Oh," the man opened his mouth.

"No, no!" the Doctor jumped back from him quickly, holding up a hand, "Don't tell me how it happened. Although…" he paused, frowning, "…I hope I didn't just trip over a brick. That'd be embarrassing," the Hatter coughed, struggling to hold back a laugh, "Then again, painless. Worse ways to go," he titled his head, "Depends on the brick".

"You're gabbling, sir," the Next Doctor remarked, eyeing him, "Now might I ask, who are you both, exactly?"

"Oh, this Is John," the Hatter smiled brightly, nodding at the Doctor, "John Smith," she exchanged a quick look with her Doctor before glancing at the other man, "We have heard quite a bit about you, Doctor," she told him.

"Bit of a legend, if I may say so myself," the Doctor added, unable to help himself.

"And there goes the ego again," the Time Lady muttered under her breath, nudging his side.

The man smiled at them, "Modesty forbids me to agree with you, sir," he nodded, "But yes, yes I am".

The Hatter raised her eyebrows at him, having to bite her bottom lip to stop herself making a comment about how this new him actually seemed to have grown modest, which was rather startling, "But…a legend who appears to have lost a great number of memories," she titled her head, watching him closely.

He looked at her sharply, "How do you know that?"

"You've forgotten me," the Doctor replied, eyeing him just as closely as the Time Lady, "And you've forgotten the Hatter, which is…very, very wrong".

The Next Doctor took a deep breath, "Great swathes of my life have been stolen away," he told them grimly, "When I turn my mind to the past…there's nothing".

"How far back does this go, exactly?" the Hatter asked, sounding concerned.

"Since the Cybermen. Masters of that hellish wall-scuttler and old enemies of mine, now at work in London town," he stepped closer to them, looking very serious, "You won't believe this, Mister Smith, Miss Hattie, but they are creatures from another world".

"Really?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows, pretending to be surprise and doing a very poor job at it as the Hatter rolled her eyes at him, "Wow…"

"It's said they fell onto London," he continued, eyeing them seriously, "Out of the sky in a blaze of light. And they found me…" he trailed off, looking down as if he was remembering, "Something was taken. And something was lost," the Doctor looked sharply at the Hatter, thinking that it was her, but she shook her head slightly, her eyes focused on the other man's face, "What was I like, in the past?" he asked hopefully, looking up at them.

The Doctor hesitated, exchanging a look with the Time Lady, "I don't think we should say," he told him after a moment, "Sorry. Got to be careful with memory loss. One wrong word…"

"It's strange, though," he commented, eyeing them almost suspiciously, "I talk of Cybermen from the stars and you don't blink, Mister Smith, Miss Hattie".

"Ah, don't blink, remember that?" the Doctor jumped at the chance to hopefully get some recognition, maybe spark a memory of the Hatter, "Whatever you do, don't blink?" he tried, simply getting a blank look in return, "The blinking and the statues? Sally and the angles?"

"Huh, that sounds like a band name," the Hatter remarked, sounding amused.

"Huh, not bad," he nodded in agreement, turning back to the Next Doctor, "No?"

The Next Doctor simply shook his head at him, frowning, "You're a very odd man".

"Hmm, I still am," he hummed thoughtfully, eyeing him closely, pretending not to notice the laugh that the Hatter covered with a cough, "Something's wrong here…"

"Oh, the funeral!" the man suddenly exclaimed in realisation, "The funerals at two o'clock!" he gave them both a bow, "It's been a pleasure, Mister Smith, Miss Hattie," he gave them both very serious looks, pointing sternly, "Don't breathe a word of it".

"Oh, but can't we come with you?"

"It's far dangerous," he shook his head firmly, "Rest assured, I shall keep this city safe," he promised, turning to hurrying away before he turned back to them, "Oh, and…er…merry Christmas, Mister Smith, Miss Hatter".

"Merry Christmas, Doctor," they both called after him as he disappeared around the corner.

"You know, I really do hate formalities," the Hatter grumbled in annoyance, thinking about how even though she had told him otherwise, he continued to call her 'miss'.

The Doctor's mouth twitched in amusement as he glanced at her, "Oh, I know, _Dame_ Hatter…ouch!" he yelped as she smacked the back of his head, and quickly started rubbing it, "Okay, I'm sorry!"

"Oh, I'm sure that you will be if you try something like that again," she replied, her voice pleasant, which only made her words all the more frightening. She shook her head, turning serious as she glanced towards where the Next Doctor had disappeared, "This whole thing doesn't make sense," she sighed heavily.

"He said something was taken…" he began thoughtfully, looking sideways at her, worry etched across his face.

"I know what you're thinking, sweetheart," she took his hand, giving him a comforting look, "But it wasn't me that he was speaking of".

"How can you be so sure? He doesn't even know".

"Because I know the look of a person who has recently lost a child," she replied calmly, but sadly, earning a startled look from him, "I could see it in his eyes, the grief that only the loss of a child can cause. That's was what he lost, a child, which may also be a reason behind his memory loss…"

"A child?" the Doctor repeated, swallowing thickly as he looked at her carefully, "If he's me then…then that would mean…"

The Hatter smiled at him, "That would mean that you would become a father again in the future," she nodded before sighing, frowning, "But that's only_ if_ he is actually you".

"You don't think he is, then?"

"I don't know quite what to think right now. He's got huge gaps in his memory, he doesn't even seem to remember his own childhood, otherwise he would have known me, wouldn't he? That doesn't make sense. And then there's the fact he's human…I couldn't sense anything Time Lord about him".

"I noticed that he was wearing a pocket watch," the Doctor remarked thoughtfully, "He could have hidden himself in there".

"Perhaps," the Hatter agreed, looking just as thoughtful as him, "But he wouldn't believe himself to be you," she paused, glancing at him, "Still…it's certainly worth a look".

"Shall we?" he held out his elbow towards her, raising his eyebrows, a playful spark in his eyes.

"We shall," she grinned back at him, linking her arm through his as they turned and hurried after the Next Doctor.

….

It didn't take them long before they had caught up with the Next Doctor, watching from a distance as he and Rosita observed a rather large funeral procession pass by them slowly, a number of clearly wealthy men, all dressed in black and wearing top hats, looking grim, following just behind a black hears carrying the coffin, led by four horses.

"The late Reverend Fairchild, leaving his place of residence for the last time," they could hear the Next Doctor remarked solemnly, "God rest his soul. Now," he glanced at the young woman beside him, "With the house empty, I shall effect an entrance at the rear while you go back to the TARDIS," she frowned at him, "This is hardly work for a woman".

"If I ever hear you try to tell any woman that, Doctor, I will move in with Captain Jack," the Hatter threatened the Doctor, standing beside her quietly, giving him a look to make sure he knew just how serious she was.

The Doctor blinked, looking horrified by the very idea, "Well, that just goes to prove that he can't be me," he swallowed, glancing uneasily at her, "And…you wouldn't really…"

She looked at him, completely serious, "Doctor, I promise you that I would," she told him firmly, "And I always keep my promises".

"Oh, don't mind me saving your life all those times before," Rosita scoffed at the Next Doctor, looking annoyed, "That's work for a woman, isn't it?"

"Ooh, I knew I liked her," the Time Lady commented softly, exchanging a smile with the Doctor.

The Next Doctor turned back to her, saying sternly, "The Doctor's companion does what the Doctor says…"

"You wish," she coughed, nudging his side.

"…off you go," he continued, giving her one final look.

They watched as Rosita, still looking annoyed, walked away from him as he headed off around the back of the house, and out of sight.

"Shall we, Doctor Watson?" the Hatter asked teasingly, raising an eyebrows at her Doctor, putting on a British accent for a moment.

The Doctor grinned back at her, winking, "Whatever you say, Holmes".

They hurried out of there hiding spot and around the front of the house, flashing the sonic at the door, and stepped through into a typical Victorian style entrance hall with a big, sweeping wooden staircase that lead up to the upper floors, and doors leading off to other rooms in the hall.

Not pausing to take a look at the other rooms, since that was what they were going to do, anyway, they quickly made their way through to the back of the house, locating the back door easily enough, and threw it open to find the Next Doctor bent over as he fiddled with the lock…well, the lock that was no longer there.

"Hello," the Doctor smiled happily at the other man as he jumped back up, looking startled.

"Long time no see," the Hatter laughed, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she eyed the man's face.

"How…how did you get in?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Oh, front door," the Doctor replied, jerking his thumb back towards the way they had come, "We're good at doors," his eyes travelled down to look at what he was clutching in his hand, "Er…do you mind me asking…is that your sonic screwdriver?"

The Next Doctor laughed slightly, still seeming quite shocked, "Yes," he smiled as he held up a completely ordinary looking screwdriver, nothing sonic about it in the slightest, "I'd be lost without it".

"Indeed…" the Hatter blinked slowly, having to force the urge to laugh away as she eyed it, "But…well, it's only a screwdriver," she began carefully, "How is it sonic?"

"Well…er, it makes a noise," he answered, seeming to be a bit disappointed and a little confused himself as he tapped the end of it against the doorframe, "That's sonic, isn't it?" he shrugged before glancing over his shoulder and back to them, "Now, since we're acting like common burglars, I suggest we get out of plain view".

They stepped back, exchanging looks as he walked through the doorway, and off further into the house, "You know…I think it's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between you two," the Time Lady commented playfully as they closed the door.

"Hush you," the Doctor nudged her side playfully, a smile on his face, "You never know, he probably think's that he used to own a hat stand that he called 'Hatter,'" he shot her a sly look.

Unable to stop herself, she burst out laughing and quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to try and stop herself, "Oh, that would be such a typical thing to happen, wouldn't it?" she giggled, knowing that she should probably feel offended if that was the case, but it was simply far to amusing.

They exchanged broad, highly amused grins with each other before quickly turning serious and hurrying after the Next Doctor, finding him just as he opened the door to what appeared to be rather large room that might have been the library with the amount of bookcases that lined the walls. As they moved further into the room, looking around, the Next Doctor walked straight over to a desk and began rifling through the draws.

"This investigation of yours…what's it about?" the Doctor asked curiously, glancing around the room for sign of clues.

"It started with a murder," the other man informed them, not looking up from his search.

"Oh, good," he nodded slowly, quickly stopping at the look at the Hatter threw him and the frown that the Next Doctor shot him as he paused, "I mean _bad_, but whose?"

"Mr Jackson Lake," he began to explain, returning to his search, "A teacher of mathematics from Sussex. He came to London three weeks ago and died a terrible death".

"Was it the Cybermen?" the Hatter questioned, titling her head.

"It's hard to say. His body was never found. But then it started. More secret murders, then abductions…" he paused, something changing in his face as the Time Lady immediately focused intently on him, "Children…stolen away in silence".

"So whose house is this?" the Doctor asked, glancing around again.

"The latest murder," he replied, moving away to flick through a couple of books, "The Reverend Aubrey Fairchild, found with burns to his forehead," he looked up at them, "Like some advance form of electrocution".

"Dear me," the Hatter winced sympathetically, "Not the most pleasant way to die, still…it could have been worse, I suppose".

"Who was he?" the Doctor frowned, "Was he important?"

The Next Doctor paused and looked at them again, his eyes narrowed slightly, "You ask a lot of questions".

The Time Lady smiled at him, nudging her Doctor's side, "That's because we're your companions," she replied, "And a companion who doesn't ask questions is not doing their job right".

That seemed to do the trick as he lowered his eyes, "The Reverend was the pillar of the community, a member of many parish boards," he told them, "A keen advocate of children's charities".

"Children again…" the Doctor commented, frowning as he exchanged an uneasy look with the Hatter, "But why would the Cybermen want him dead?" he wondered, "And what's the connection to the first death, this Jackson Lake?"

"It's funny…" the Next Doctor took a step closer towards them, eyeing them both, "I seem to be telling you both everything, as though you engendered some sort of…trust," he looked at them intently, "You seem familiar. I know your face…both of you," he frowned, looking lost, "But how?"

The Time Lords exchanged looks, "I wonder…" the Doctor said quietly, "I can't help noticing you're wearing a fob watch".

"Is that important?"

"There's a very old legend," the Hatter informed him, making sure it sounded as if she had heard about it from a story, rather than from actual real life experience, "A legend that says that all the memories of a Time Lord can be contained within a watch".

"Do you mind?" the Doctor held out his hand. Still appearing somewhat confused, the man handed him the watch, looking hopeful, "It's said that if it's opened…" he clicked the watch open and suddenly all the contains sprung out, falling to the floor, "Oh," he blinked, glancing down at the bits of clock now littering the floor, the Hatter coughed, seeming to be holding back a laugh, "Maybe not".

"It's more for decoration…" the Next Doctor told them, smiling slightly.

"Yeah," he nodded, taking a deep breath, "Anyway, alien infiltration".

"Yes," he agreed, calling as they walked towards the back of the room to search, "Just look for anything different," he instructed as he went back to searching, "Possibly metal. Anything that doesn't seem to belong," the Doctor glanced back at him and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, carefully setting to work using it to scan the room as the Time Lady pretended to search through a pile of books, "Perhaps a mechanical device that could fit no earthly engine. It could even seem to be organic, but unlike any organism of the natural world…" he stopped suddenly, "Shush!" he hushed, frowning, "What's that noise?"

The Doctor quickly hid the sonic back inside his coat as the Hatter laughed, "Oh, that was just…John whistling," she invented easily, casting a look at the Doctor, "He's got a habit of doing that".

"Drives her mad," the Doctor nodded, and did an impression of whistling a similar sound as the sonic, earning an annoyed look from the other man, "I wonder what's in here, though…" he gestured to a scroll top desk behind him and turned around to open it, the Hatter right beside him, "Ah…" he pulled out a silver metal cylinder like object, holding it up as the Time Lady eyed it closely, "Different and metal, you were right," he glanced at the Next Doctor.

"An infostamp," the Hatter remarked thoughtfully, taking the device as the Doctor pulled out another one, quickly adding, "Well…I can only assume so," she smiled over at the other Doctor, "And I would also assume that they work like this…" she pressed the end of the one she was holding and multiple images were projected onto the wall, changing rapidly.

"Compressed information," the Doctor added, slipping his glasses on as he eyed the ever changing images, "Tons of it. That is the history of London, 1066 to the present day".

"Handy if you need to learn about something quickly," the Time Lady nodded slowly, glancing at the Next Doctor, "It's like a disk, a Cyberdisc…" she trailed off, frowning as she looked at the Doctor, "But why would the Cybermen need these? I mean, they're handy but a little simple, they wouldn't need these when they already have wireless, unless…" her eyes widened in realisation, "Oh, of course," she breathed, "They've landed in the wrong century, which means that they don't have much power".

"Of course," the Doctor nodded also, looking thoughtful, "They need plain old basic infostamps to update themselves".

The Hatter frowned as she looked over to see the Next Doctor sitting in a chair a short distance away from them, looking pained as he stared down at another infostamp in his hand, "Are you alright?" she asked him gently, moving to his side.

"I'm fine," the Next Doctor breathed, trying to wave her concern off as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No, you're not," she shook her head firmly, glancing over at the Doctor as he moved towards them, "And there's no point in trying to pretend that you are. We both have far too much experience to simply drop it," she looked back at him, giving him a comforting smile, "Please, what's wrong?"

"I've seen one of these before," he admitted gravely, twisting the device in his hand as he meet her eyes, "I was holding…this device the night I lost my mind. The night I regenerated," his eyes moved away, as if he was seeing something neither she nor the Doctor could, "The Cybermen…they made me change. My mind, my face, my whole self," he took a deep, shuddering breath as he looked at the Doctor, "And you were there," he frowned at him, "Who are you?"

"We're friends," the Doctor assured him softly, "I swear".

"Then I beg you, John, Hattie," he looked at them desperately, "Help me".

"Oh, and those are two words that we never could refuse," the Hatter smiled at him, giving his shoulder a comforting squiz as the Doctor took her other hand and helped her to straighten.

"But it's not a conversation of a dead man's house," the Doctor told them, looking around the room again as he slipped the inforstamps he was still holding inside his coat pocket, "It'll make more sense if we go back to the TARDIS. Your…" he pointed at the other man, "…TARDIS. Hold on," he turned and began moving away, taking the Time Lady with him, "We just need to do a little final check. Won't be a tick," he exchanged a look with the Hatter, opening a door, "There's one more thing I can't figure. If this room's got infostamps, then maybe, just maybe, it's got something that needs infostamping…" he pulled open another door, only to find a Cyberman standing there, "Okay!" he said, sounding surprisingly calm as he slammed the door shut, spinning back around to the other man, "I think we should run".

The Hatter groaned, looking as if she very much wished to slap him, "Oh, I am so going to kill you for making me wear this blasted dress," she grasped a handful of the skirt and ran over to the Next Doctor, grabbing his arm, pulling him up, "Come on! No time to lose!"

The door behind them smashed open as the Cyberman moved inside the room.

"Run, Doctor!" the Doctor called as he grabbed his shoulders, pushing him forward while the Time Lady tried pulling him, "Now, Doctor!"

"Delete," the Cyberman said from behind them.

They darted outside the room, the Doctor slamming the door closed behind them and giving it a quick sonic, and turned to run down hallway, when a second Cyberman stepped out in front of them, blocking the way, "Delete".

"This way!" the Hatter raced down the other way, the two men following right on her heels as they found themselves in the entrance hall, "The stairs!" she gasped, pushing the future Doctor towards them, "Use the stairs!"

"We can't lead them outside!" the Doctor agreed, trying to move himself in front of the Time Lady as both Cybermen approached them. He looked around, trying to find something, anything he could use to fight them off when he grabbed at a coat stand, "Hatter, upstairs!" he called to her urgently.

She looked back and forth between the possibly future Doctor and her Doctor slowly backed up a couple of steps, watching as he pulled out something…only to manage to open an umbrella, "Great, more bad luck," she muttered as he chucked the umbrella away, looking around for something else, just as she spotted a sword hanging on the wall. She quickly grabbed it, "Doctor, use this!" and chucked it at him, sighing in relief when he caught it and didn't end up hurting himself.

The Doctor waved the sword in front of him at the Cybermen, "I'm a dab hand with a cutlass," he warned them as they continued to approach him, "You don't want to come near me when I've got one of these. This is your last warning. No?" they simply moved closer to him, making his eyes widen, "Okay, this is really your last warning! Okay, I give up!"

"Delete".

He started backing further up the stairs, quickly turning back to the approaching Cybermen as the Hatter, growling under her breath in frustration as her dress almost caused her to trip, moved further back, "Listen to me properly!" he tried again, "Whatever you're doing stuck in 1851…" one of the Cybermen slashed at him, and he used his sword to deflect his attack, still backing up, "We can help! I mean it!" another slash out at him and he deflected it once more, "We're the only two people in the world who can help you! Listen to me!"

"Delete".

The Cyberman raised its arm and the Doctor caught it against his sword, his hands shaking with the effort, "I'm the Doctor and she's the Hatter," he tried again, the Hatter's eyes snapped over to the Next Doctor, who was staring at the Doctor, wincing slightly, "You need us," he continued, "Check your memory banks. My name's the Doctor and she's the Hatter. Leave this man alone!" he grimaced as he was slowly forced to lean back, "The Doctor is me!"

"Must I be the one to do everything?" the Hatter grumbled as she rushed forward, or as much as she could, and shoved as hard as she could against the Cyberman's chest, sending it crashing back into its little friend, and giving the Doctor enough time to scrambled to his feet, sending her a grateful look.

"Oh, I could kiss you!" he called to her.

"I'm quite certain that you probably will if we survive this," she replied, giving him a small, cheeky smile.

However, it didn't last long, and the Cybermen were quickly back to advancing on them again, "Delete".

"The Doctor, remember?" he turned back to the Cybermen, using his sword again to deflect any attacks, "I'm the Doctor! You need me and the Hatter alive!" he swung it and the Cyberman managed to catch it, "You need the Doctor and the Hatter, and that's us!"

Not listening to a word he said, the Cyberman shoved the Doctor away and he landed on his back on the ground, sword still in hand. The Hatter bit her bottom lip, trying to look around for something, anything to use, but there was nothing that she could see that might help.

"Delete".

Suddenly, a bright beam of energy shot over the Doctor, missing the Time Lady by inches, and hit the Cybermen. Both stopped in there attack, crying out as they moved their hands towards their heads. The Time Lords blinked and looked back to find that the Next Doctor was standing there, holding an infostamp with one end opened, pointed at the Cybermen.

Both Cyermen collapsed onto their knees, shaking violently, when their heads suddenly exploded, sending bits of metal and other things that the Hatter really didn't wish to think about around the room.

"Well, that was…exciting," she remarked slowly, sounding a little breathless as she glanced back at the Next Doctor, her eyes going to the inforstamp still in his hands, "Cyclo-steinham core, nice. You ripped open the core and broke the safety…"

"Zap!" the Doctor laughed, smiling broadly as he turned around, "Only the Doctor would think of that…well…" he paused, wrapping his arm around the Hatter's waist, kissing her cheek, "Only if the Hatter hadn't done it first".

The Hatter rolled her eyes at him, "Yes, well, I didn't have one on my person, I'm afraid," she informed him, frowning slightly in concern as she noticed how pale and shaky looking the Next Doctor was, "Are you okay?" she asked him gently.

"I did that…last time," he looked up at them.

"Shh, it's alright," she walked over to him, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders, "Everything's going to be okay".

The Doctor gave him his own comforting smile and moved towards him, "Let me just check something…" he murmured as he pulled out his stethoscope.

"You told them you were the Doctor," the Next Doctor frowned at him, "Why did you do that?"

The Hatter rubbed soothing circles on his back, "Oh, he was only saying all of that to protect you," she told him calmly and gently, glancing at the Doctor, "You're _the_ Doctor. You have to have someone who can keep an eye on you".

He shook his head as the Doctor placed the end of his scope against his chest, listening, "You're trying to take away the only thing I've got, like they did," he took a deep, shuddering breath, staring at the Doctor, "They stole something, something so precious…" he broke off, shaking his head painfully, blinking back tears as the Hatter winced, knowing the look in his eyes all too well, "But I can't remember," he looked up at them, "What happened to me? What did they do?"

"We'll find out," the Doctor told him, "You and us together".

"We promise," the Hatter added.

_**You know, I kind of feel bad for putting the Hatter into that Victorian dress, but I just couldn't help myself. Hmm, I wonder if it will meet the same fate as he high heels in The Lazarus Experiment did, if not then the Doctor just might for talking her into wearing it…**_

_**The link for her outfit is on my profile, anyway. I hope you liked it, tell me what you thought, please review :)**_


	2. Chapter 2 The Next Doctor, Part 2

_**The Next Doctor, Part 2.**_

The Time Lords followed the Next Doctor as he led them to his base, a icy wind whipped through the air, making the Time Lady quite glad that she had worn her trousers under the numerous petticoats, even though it really didn't have a great effect on her as it would on a human, it was the thought that counts.

"Doctor!" Rosita called, a broad smile spreading across her face as she looked up, and spotted them at the end of the alley. She grabbed a handful of her skirts and ran over to her Doctor, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug, "I thought you were dead!"

The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged small smiles, watching them, knowing both all too well just how special the relationship between themselves and one of their companions could be. They not only became some of their dearest friends, but also like a family member.

"Oh," the Next Doctor blinked, seeming mildly surprised by the young woman, patting her back, "Now then, Rosita," he pulled back from her, "A little decorum".

"You've been gone for so long," she frowned, glancing at the Doctor and Hatter, "He's always doing this, leaving me behind," she shot him a pointed, almost fond look, "Going frantic".

"What about the TARDIS?"

"Oh, she's ready," she replied, grinning, "Come on".

She gestured for them to follow as she turned away, the Next Doctor following after her as the Time Lords exchanged looks, "I'm looking forward to this," the Doctor remarked quietly to the Time Lady, smiling.

"This could be very amusing, sad, unexpected, or all three," the Hatter commented, glancing at him before titling her head, shrugging, "Or it might just be the TARDIS and we've been barking up the wrong tree all along".

He raised his eyebrows, "Either way, it should prove whether he's me or not," he shook his head, taking her hand, "Anyway, come on".

They quickly followed after Rosita and the Next Doctor, coming to find themselves in what appeared to be a horse stables, only there wasn't any horses as far as they could see. But there was lots of luggage scattered around, along with bits of clothing that had been thrown all over the place.

"And I thought your school bedroom had been a mess," the Hatter muttered to the Doctor, looking around the stables. She wouldn't call this regeneration exactly neat, her First self-had been…well, not when it came to her lab, but she couldn't help but feel the faint urge to start trying to pick some of the clothing up. Oh, dear, she was starting to sound like her Mother…how horrifying.

"Hush you," he muttered, nudging her side playfully.

"You were right though, Rosita," the Next Doctor was saying to the young woman as they entered, "The Revere d Fairchild's death was the work of the Cybermen".

The Doctor glanced around, "So, you live here?" he asked, really starting to get curios about the TARDIS.

"A temporary base, until we rout the enemy," he replied as he stepped inside one of the stalls and over to a basin full of water, picking up a face washer as he spoke, "The TARDIS is magnificent, but it's hardly a home".

"Right…" the Hatter nodded slowly, trying not to smile as she cast her eyes around the stables again, "So…where is the old girl? I mean, the TARDIS, of course," she quickly added, hopping that her small slip would go unnoticed.

Apparently it did, as he didn't say anything about it, simply saying, "In the yard".

They looked back towards the way they had come, frowning around as they stepped over towards were all the luggage was stacked up, eyeing it, "Er…what's all this luggage?" the Doctor asked him.

"Evidence," he told them, walking out of the stall and began fiddling with an open suitcase, "The property of Jackson Lake, the first man to be murdered," they nodded, exchanging looks, "Oh, but my new friends are fighters, Rosita, much like myself," he continued, smiling slightly, "He faced the Cybermen with a cutlass and she pushed them back, giving him time to get back to the fight. I'm not ashamed to say, they were braver then I," he admitted, pausing in what he was doing with the suitcase as the Doctor pulled out his sonic and began scanning the luggage. Rosita noticed, frowning at them, "They were quite brilliant," he paused, seeming to be frowning, his back to them, "Are you whistling again?"

"Yes," the Doctor spun around, hiding the sonic behind his back as he nodded, "Yes, I am, yeah. Yeah," he mouthed 'shush' at Rosita as he slipped the sonic back inside his coat, turning to a stack of cases, throwing a blanket off them, and began pulling them down.

"That's another man's property," Rosita crossed her arms across her chest, giving him a look.

"Well, a dead man's," he shrugged, clicking open one of the cases, and he and the Hatter began searching through the contents.

"How did you meet?" the Hatter asked, glancing at her and over at the Next Doctor, curiously.

She looked back over to the man in question, "He saved my life," she told them, "Late one night, by the Osterman's Warf, this…creature came out of the shadows," she turned back to them, shaking her head, "A man made of metal. I thought I was going to die. And then, there he was," she frowned, looking concerned, "Can you help him? He has such terrible dreams. Wakes at night in such a state of terror".

"Come now, Rosita," the Next Doctor cut in, standing up and turning to them, "With all the things a Time Lord has seen, everything he's lost, he may surely have bad dreams".

"Yeah…" the Doctor breathed.

The Hatter gave him a small smile, taking his hand, "And there will always be someone there to take your hand and be there for you," she whispered to him, recalling the number of times since her return to the Doctor's life that she had be woken or been alerted by the TARDIS to his distress. She took a deep breath and turned back to the case, shifting a couple of things out of the way when she spotted something, "Ooh, look what we have here," she held up an inforstamp for them to see, "It would seem that Jackson Lake had an infostamp".

"But how?" the Next Doctor asked, stepping closer to them, his eyes fixed on the device, "Is that significant?"

The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged looks, "Doctor, the answer to all this is in your TARDIS," the Doctor told the other man, raising his eyebrows, "Can we see it?"

"Mister Smith, Miss Hattie, it would be my honour".

He pulled on his coat and led them back through the stables, and outside into a small yard. He stopped, smiling broadly as they followed him, their eyes widening as he held up his arms proudly, showing off…a large, blue hot-air balloon tethered right in the middle of the yard, a young man standing beside it.

"There she is!" he called happily as he strolled towards it, still smiling so proudly it could almost be mistaken that he was talking about his child, "My transport through time and space. The TARDIS".

The Hatter suddenly coughed, quickly covering her mouth in an attempt to hide her amusement as she looked back up at the balloon. Well, she had been right, this was certainly amusing, unexpected, and even a little sad, since he seemed to be so proud of his…well, his 'TARDIS'. Perhaps when this whole thing was sorted out he might actually be able to go on a couple of adventures with it…in this century and planet, of course.

"You've got a…balloon," the Doctor blinked, looking rather surprised and unsure as to quite what to say.

"_TARDIS_," the other man stressed, "T-A-R-D-I-S. It stands for Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style," he grinned broadly again, glancing at them, the Time Lady could only nod, unable to trust herself not to make a remark or laugh. It was actually kind of…sweet, when she thought about it, "Do you see?"

"Well, I do now," he nodded, opening and closing his mouth for a moment, "I like it. Good…TARDIS. Brilliant. Nice one," he and the Hatter followed after the other man and Rosita as they walked closer to the balloon.

"Ah, just out of curiosity," the Time Lady began, casting a sideways look at the Doctor and back over to the other man, "You didn't own a coat hanger that you nicknamed 'the Hatter,' by any chance?" she coughed, trying hard not to laugh as the Doctor's eyes lit up, a smile spreading across his face, "I mean, maybe that's why the name seems so familiar?"

The man paused, looking thoughtful, "Now that I think about it…I do believe that I just might have," he replied, seeming unaware of the huge struggle the Time Lords were under not to burst out laughing.

The Hatter nodded, clearing her throat, trying very, very hard not to laugh as the Doctor bit his tongue in an attempt not to laugh, also, " Well…ah, I guess that's one mystery solved," she pinched herself, but she was unable to stop the faint tremble of laughter from entering her voice.

Luckily, no one seemed to notice and the Doctor coughed, realising that they really ought to change the subject before they ended up cracking up, "It's…it's inflated by gas, yeah?" he guessed, looking back at the balloon.

"We're adjacent to the Mutton Street Gasworks," the Next Doctor explained to them, "I pay them a modest fee," he turned and clapped the young man's shoulder, reaching inside his coat, "Good work, Jed".

"Glad to be of service,sir," Jed nodded, smiling as the Next Doctor began counting out a number of five pound notes that he had stashed away inside his coat, handing him one.

The Time Lords eyed the Next Doctor, "You've got quite a bit of money," they remarked.

"Oh, you get nothing for nothing," he replied, tucking the rest of the notes back inside his pocket, "How's that ripped panel, Jed?" he glanced at him, turning back to look at the balloon.

"All repaired," Jed told him, "Should work a treat," he smiled, glancing at him, "You never know, maybe tonight's the night, Doctor. Imagine it, seeing Christmas from above".

The Next Doctor's smile seemed to fade, "Not just yet, I think. One day, I will ascend," he sighed, "One day soon".

"You've never been up there, have you?" the Hatter realised, titling her head at him as Jed left them.

"He dreams of leaving, but never does," Rosita informed them.

"I can depart in the TARDIS once London is safe. And finally, when I'm up there…" he looked up at the sky before looking over at the Time Lords, smiling, "Think of it, John, Hattie. The time and the space".

"The perfect escape," the Doctor nodded, taking the Hatter's hand, both knowing just exactly what he was talking about, "Do you ever wonder what you're escaping from?"

He sighed deeply, "With every moment".

The Hatter stepped towards him, keeping her hand in the Doctor's and using the other one to place on his shoulder, "Would you like us to tell you?" she asked him softly as he frowned at her, "Because…we believe that we know, that we've worked this out. How you became the Doctor".

"What do you think?" the Doctor gave him a long look, "Do you want to know?"

"And please know, that this may not be easy," the Time Lady added, looking at him sadly, "You may very well find out things that you would rather wish you had never known".

He stared at them both for a long moment, hope and fear written all across his face before he took a deep, shuddering breath, "No, I need to know," he told them firmly, sounding determined, "Tell me".

….

The Doctor and the Hatter sat side by side back in the stables, across from the Next Doctor and Rosita, who were looking at them expectedly.

The Doctor took a deep breath, preparing himself as the Hatter gave him an encouraging smile, "The story begins with the Cybermen," he began, "A long time away, and not so far from here, the Cybermen were fought, and they were beaten, and they were sent into a howling wildness called the Void, locked inside forever more. But then a greater battle rose up, so great that everything inside the Void perished".

"But then the walls of the world began to weaken," the Hatter told them, grasping the Doctor's hand tightly, "And the last of the Cybermen must have fallen through the dimensions, all the way back in time, until they landed here," she sighed, looking at the man sitting across from them, "And that's when they found you".

"I fought them, I know that," he nodded, frowning, "But what happened?"

"At the same time, another man came to London," the Doctor continued, "Mister Jackson Lake," he glanced around, back towards all the cases, "Plenty of luggage, money in his pocket," he turned back to them, "Maybe…coming to town for the winter season, I don't know," he shook his head, "But he found the Cybermen, too. And just like you, _exactly_ like you, he took hold of an inforstamp".

"But he's dead," he replied, shaking his head, "Jackson Lake is dead. The Cybermen murdered him".

"You said that his body was never found," the Hatter reminded him softly, "And then, of course, you kept all of his suitcases," she gestured around the room at all the luggage and clothing, "But…" she looked at him sadly, "You could never quite bring yourself to open any of them, could you? Not even to search for clues".

"We told you the answer was in the fob watch," the Doctor glanced down at the watching hanging from a chain on his waistcoat, "Can we see?" he held out his hand and the other man, swallowing, passed him the watch, and he turned it over to reveal two initials engraved on the back, "J.L," he read aloud, looking across to the man, "The watch is Jackson Lake's".

He frowned at them as Rosita gasped, her eyes widening as she looked at the man beside her, "Jackson Lake is…you, sir?"

"But_ I'm_ the Doctor," he breathed, looking up at them in confusion and a little fear.

The Hatter gave him a very sad, understanding look, "I'm afraid that you _became_ the Doctor because the inforstamp that you just so happened to pick up…was a book, or record, if you will, about one particular man," she told him gently as the Doctor picked up the infostamp that was sitting on the table between them.

He pressed the button on the end of the device and a projection hit the wall beside them, showing each incarnation of the Doctor's, starting with his First self. The Hatter smiled faintly, looking at all the past Doctor's fondly, and she even was slightly surprised to catch a brief glimpse of one of her past selves, such as the edge of a cape she once wore during her Second regeneration, the glimpse of a umbrella from her Fifth regeneration, just little things, things that most would never have caught, since they were mostly all seen just briefly and out of focus.

"The Cyberman's database," the Doctor informed Rosita and…well, Jackson Lake, his tone sounding grim as he watched the projection, "Stolen from the Daleks inside the void, I would say, but it's everything you could want to know about the Doctor".

"You're lucky you didn't pick up my infostamp," the Hatter commented, sounding slightly amused as she pulled another inforstamp out from behind her, eyeing it. They had found it while going through the Reverends house, only they hadn't noticed at the time her name that was labelling the device at the very top, "That could have been…interesting".

And then the Doctor, the Tenth Doctor's image flashed across the projection, his hair appearing to be damp in it, and just beside him, a woman wearing a hat appeared briefly, so briefly that they almost didn't catch it before she seemed to have turned away, but it was definitely had been the Hatter's Ninth self.

"That's you," Jackson breathed, his eyes widening as he looked across to the man sitting in front of him, looking at him in a completely new light.

"Time Lord, TARDIS, enemy of the Cybermen," the Doctor clicked his tongue, "The one and the only," he clicked the infostamp and turned the projection off, holding it up for them to see, "You see, the infostamp must have backfired. Streamed all that information about me, all those little flashes of the Hatter, right inside your head".

"And that explains why you thought that I was a coat hanger," the Time Lady remarked, her voice gentle as she looked across at him, "Most of the flashes that you saw were so brief that you only caught glimpse of, well, my clothing, for instance. And, any information on there about the Doctor being known friends to a person called the Hatter really isn't that detailed," she frowned, titling her head, "Actually, I don't believe they even said anything about me being a person, so again, that would explain why you would have gotten that mixed up".

Jackson closed his eyes, covering his face with his hands as he leant forward, "I am nothing but a lie…" he breathed.

"No, don't you dare do that," the Hatter let go of the Doctor's hand and knelt down in front of Jackson, grabbing his hands gently and pulling them away from his face, making him look at her, ignoring the annoying way her skirts practically swallowed her, "I won't allow yourself to do that," she told him firmly but gently, "The inforstamps, they are nothing, just an imprint of someone, filled with facts and figures, they have nothing to do with all that bravery you've shown. Saving Rosita, defending London, and what about that invention?" she smiled at him, hoping to try and cheer him up, "You built your own TARDIS, that was all you. I mean, not even a _Time Lord_ could build their own TARDIS straight from scratch like that".

"And what else?" he looked up at her, looking angry, but not at her or the Doctor, but at himself, "Tell me what else?"

The Hatter swallowed thickly, glancing at the Doctor, feeling her hearts sink knowing that was going to come, "I'm so, so sorry…" she breathed.

"I demand you tell me. Tell me what they took!"

"Sorry," the Doctor leant back, looking at him terribly sadly, "Really, I am so sorry, but that's an awful lot of luggage for one man," he glanced around the room again as Jackson did the same thing, and slowly, something began to dawn on him, "Because an infostamp is plain technology," he continued grimly, "It's not enough to make a man lose his mind".

"What you suffered is called a 'fugue,'" the Hatter told him, watching his face carefully, still kneeling in front of him, "And a fugue state is where the mind just runs away because it just simply can't bear to look back," she took his hand, trying to offer him comfort, "You wanted to become someone else, you were desperate to, because Jackson Lake…he had lost so much".

In the distance, a church bell sounded.

"Midnight," Rosita remarked quietly, looking up, "Christmas Day".

"I remember…" Jackson gasped, staring off into the distance, "Oh, my God…" his eyes widened in horror, and the Time Lords could only watch, "Caroline," he breathed, "They killed my wife," tears began filling his eyes and he tried to shack his head, as if he refused to believe it as he broke down into sobs, leaning forward and covering his mouth, heartbroken, "They killed her…"

The Hatter, with slightly difficulty, pulled herself up from the ground as Rosita tried to comfort him, wrapping her arms around him as he sobbed, when something suddenly beeped. The Doctor frowned, glancing down at his inforstamp inside his hand, when another beep sounded, this time coming from the one that the Hatter had left in her seat when she had knelt on the floor.

Both Time Lords exchanged looks, when more beeps sounded. They looked around, the Doctor holding both stamps in his hands as they followed the sound, which led them over to a suitcase. His and the Time Lady's stamps inside his pocket, and popped open the case, shifting bits of clothing out of the way, "Oh…" he blinked, pulling out a long belt with stamps attached to it, holding it up, "You found a whole cache of inforstamps".

"Goodness," the Hatter took an end of the belt, examining the devices closely…well, as closely as she could without hurting her ears from the beeping sound they were all making, "I wonder what they all have on them…"

"But what is it?" Rosita asked, frowning as she stood, and looked at them, "What's that noise?"

"Activation," the Doctor replied, looking at the Hatter, "Call to arms. The Cybermen are moving!"

Dropping the belt back in the case, the Doctor and the Hatter raced outside the stables, down the alley, pausing for a moment as they looked around when they noticed shadows moving against a brick wall. They moved closer as people began appearing, clearly interested to see what was going on, when Rosita joined them a moment later.

"What is it?" she asked, frowning as a parade of orphans walked past them, all looking quite cold as they were ushered by an older man, wearing a top hat from behind, a pair of blinking blue earpieces attached on either side of his head, "What's happening? That's Mister Coal," she realised, pointing at the man, "He's Master of the Hazel Street Workhouse. Maybe he's taking them for prayers".

"Oh, nothing as holy as that," the Doctor shook his head as he and the Hatter hurried after the man, Rosita quickly followed, "Can you hear me?" he tried asking the man, "Hello? No?" but there was no response, not even a blink, "Mister Coal, you seem to have something in your ear," he reached inside his pocket for his sonic, "Now, this might hurt a bit, but if I can just…"

"Doctor," the Hatter grabbed his arm, stopping him, looking alarmed as she nodded over to were a shaggy, Cyber creature was poking it's head around the side of a building, watching them closely, clearly ready to attack should they need to, judging by the mechanical growl it gave, "Don't," she told him firmly, pulling his arm away from where he was reaching for his sonic, casting worried looks at the children, "There's no doubt more of them and they're on guard. We can't risk starting a fight, especially with the children," she tried offering a comforting smile at a little girl who looked back at them curiously, "It's far too dangerous".

He nodded and took her hand, watching as the children and Mister Coal continued off down the street.

"But where are they going?" Rosita questioned, gesturing towards them.

"They all need a good whipping, if you ask me," Jed remarked as he approached them, chewing on a bit of bread, but he took a step back at the look that the Time Lady gave him for his comment, and quickly added, "There's tons of them. I've just seen another lot coming down by the Ingleby Workhouse down Broadback Lane".

The Doctor turned to Rosita, asking urgently, "Where's that?"

"This way!" she turned and ran off, leading the Time Lords through a couple of streets, turning corners here and there, until they rounded another one and spotted another group of children being led by another man with blinking earpieces, "There's dozens of 'em," she frowned.

"Yes, but what for?" the Hatter wondered worriedly.

They watched from a distance as the children were led to a set of large, double wooden doors, where two Cybermen opened and stepped out. All the children gasped out in fright, taking steps back, and the Hatter winced from where she, the Doctor, and Rosita were watching.

Honestly, ever since she had become a mother, children had always brought out the protective side of her, whether they be hers or not, and it was strange to think that she had never wanted children in the first place. She supposed that if there was one good thing that had come from her first marriage, it had been her children, she just wished that she had actually been consulted before they had been loomed.

"You will continue," the older man ordered the children, speaking in a monotone voice, "You will enter the Court of the Cyberking. March," he ordered again when the children didn't move. One young boy tried to run away, but he was stopped by the Cyber creatures, causing the children to gasp in fright again, "That is an order. March!"

Slowly, the children began walking forward and through the doors, eyeing the Cybermen fearfully as they passed them.

"That's the door to the sluice," Rosita explained to the Time Lords as they watched the Cybermen walk back inside the doors, closing them behind them, "All the sewage runs through there, straight into the Thames".

The Doctor frowned as he looked behind him, "Yeah, that's too well guarded," he remarked, turning back to the front, "We'll have to find another way in," they stood and stopped short as they found two Cybermen standing there, blocking there path, "Whoa! That's cheating, sneaking up," he eyed them, "Do you have your legs on silent?"

"Great, that's all we need," the Hatter sighed, shaking her head.

A woman with dark hair and wearing a full, bright red Victorian dress strolled in front of the Cybermen, glancing over at them, "So…what do we have here?" she wondered, her voice cool and calm.

"Listen," the Doctor tried urgently, eyeing the Cybermen as he tried to motion for the woman to come to them, looking worried as the Hatter frowned, watching the woman closely, "Just walk towards us slowly. Don't let them touch you".

"Oh, but they wouldn't hurt me, my fine boys," she replied, smiling almost smugly, "They are my knights in shining armour, quite literally".

"Even if they've converted you, that's not a Cyber speech pattern," he continued worriedly, "You've still got free will. I'm telling you, step away".

"Sweetheart, I don't believe that that's going to work," the Hatter said quietly, still watching the woman closely, "I think she's with them because she wants to be".

"There's been no conversion, sir," the woman confirmed what the Time Lady was trying to tell him, "No one's ever been able to change my mind, the Cybermen offered me the one thing I wanted. Liberation".

The Hatter raised her eyebrows, fighting back the urge to make a remark about how they would be good friends…if she wasn't already friendly with the Cybermen.

"Who are you?" Rosita frowned, looking her up and down.

"You can be quiet," the woman shot her a nasty look, saying mockingly, "I doubt they paid you to talk".

"Excuse me, there's no reason for that," the Hatter cut in, folding her arms across her chest, giving the other woman a cold look, "Rosita's a friend, so kindly leave her alone, thank you".

The woman's eyes narrowed in her direction, "More importantly…" she began, eyeing both Time Lords closely now, "Who are you both, sir…miss, with such intimate knowledge of my companions".

"I'm the Doctor and this is the Hatter," the Doctor introduced himself and the Time Lady.

"Incorrect," one of the Cybermen responded, "You do not correspond to our image of the Doctor".

"Yeah, but that's because your database got corrupted," he nodded, reaching inside his pocket quickly, "Oh, look, look, look. Check this," he held up an infostamp for them to see, "The Doctor's infostamp," and tossed it over to the Cyberman, who caught it, "Plug it in. Go on. Download".

The Cyberman opened the top of the infostamp, examining it, "The core has been damaged," it stated, "This inforstamp would damage Cyberunits".

"Oh, well," the Hatter shrugged, glancing at the Doctor, "It was worth a shot, anyway".

The Cyberman closed the device and it beeped, looking back up at them, "Core repaired," it reported, "Download," they watched as a circle panel on its chest opened and it plugged the infostamp inside, multiple images of this Doctor's regeneration flashing across its eyes, "You are the Doctor".

"Hello," the Doctor gave them a little wave.

"You will be deleted".

"How completely unexpected," the Hatter remarked, rolling her eyes slightly.

The Doctor quickly held up his hands, talking so fast he was practically stuttering, "No, no! Oh, but let us die happy," he frowned at them, "Tell me, what do you need those children for?"

"What are children ever needed for?" the woman raised her eyebrows at them, "They're a workforce".

"Victorian values," the Time Lady sighed, shaking her head, "A workforce for what, exactly?" she asked.

"Very soon now, the whole Empire will see. And they will bow down in worship".

"And it's all been timed for Christmas day," the Doctor nodded slowly in realisation, eyeing her even more carefully now, "Was that your idea, Miss…?"

"Hartigan," she replied, smiling, "And, yes, the perfect day for a birth, with a new message for the people," her smile seemed to broaden, looking very pleased with herself, "Only this time, it won't be the words of a man".

"The birth of what?" the Time Lady asked, feeling dread wash over her.

"A birth, and a death. Namely, yours. Thank you, Doctor, Hatter, I'm glad to have been part of your very last conversation," she glanced at the Cybermen at her side, "Now, delete them".

"Delete," the Cybermen began marching towards them, the Doctor stepped in front of the Hatter, who moved herself in front of Rosita…when a bright blue beam of energy suddenly flew at the Cybermen, hitting them.

The Time Lords and Rosita blinked in surprise as they watched the Cybermen cry out in agony, collapsing to their knees, grabbing at their heads before they fall head first onto the ground, revealing Jackson, the belt of infostamps slung over his shoulder.

"At your service, Doctor, Hatter," he smiled at them.

"Shades!" Hartigan shouted loudly, "Shades!"

"Oh, dear," the Hatter groaned as the furry Cyber creatures began running in their direction, "Time to go!" she grabbed Rosita and the Doctor's hand, turning to run, "Come on!"

"Shades!"

"One last thing!" Rosita pulled her hand from the Hatter's and ran back over to the still shouting woman, and punched her right across her face, sending her crashing to the ground.

The Time Lords blinked, the Time Lady looking caught between approval and being impressed as the Doctor grabbed Rosita's arm, pulling her away, "Can I say, I completely disapprove!" he remarked, glancing at her, "Come on!"

"Excellent punch, Rosita!" the Hatter sent her a wink and a smile as they ran, "I think you might have given her a bloody lip…"

They raced through the streets, turning corners here and there until they came to a stop once they had put enough distance between them and Hartigan in an alleyway.

"That stronghold down by the river," the Doctor turned to Jackson, "We need to get in".

"I'm ahead of you," Jackson looked back at him, "My wife and I were moving to London so I could take a post at the university," he told them, his voice quick, "And while my memory is still not intact, this was in the luggage," he reached inside his pocket and withdrew a thick bit of paper, slightly yellowed with age, but clearly legal documents, "The deeds, fifteen Latimer Street," he informed them as they looked at the documents, "And if I discovered the Cybermen there, in the cellar, then…"

"It might very well be our way in!" the Hatter gasped, smiling broadly, suddenly looking excited, "Oh, that's brilliant!"

"But there's still more," he continued, frowning thoughtfully, looking pained, "I remember the cellar…and my wife, but I swear there was something else in that room," the Time Lords exchanged looks, "If we can find that, perhaps that's the key to defeating these invaders," he looked back at them, determined, "So, onwards!"

He turned and began hurrying away, Rosita right on his heels, "Maybe you should go back…" the Doctor reached out to stop her.

"Don't even try," Rosita told him firmly, shaking her head, not pausing.

"Idiot," the Time Lady shook her head, smacking his upper arm as they followed after them, "You never learn".

He rubbed his arm were she had hit him, muttering, "No".

….

As they followed after Jackson, who led them through his new home, they began making their way down a set of stone steps leading into the cellar, only to be meet with a Cybermen.

"Delete," it started to turn and approach them, but Jackson stepped forward, hitting it with a bolt of energy from an infostamp. With a loud clash of metal hitting stone, it clasped on the ground, just as the Time Lords stepped down the last steps and into the room, Rosita just behind them.

"Nice work, Jackson," the Hatter smiled at the man, patting his arm as they passed him, making their way towards the middle of the room were a device was set up, and with a cold shiver she recognised some of the design details belonging to the Daleks, "Well, it must have been guarding this," she remarked, examining the device, "A Dimension Vault".

The Doctor grinned at as he looked at it, "Stolen from the Daleks again," he guessed, "That's how the Cybermen travelled through time," he looked over to Jackson, who was staring around the room, frowning, "Jackson, is this it? The thing you couldn't remember?"

"I don't think so," he shook his head, panting slightly, looking pained again as the Time Lady bit her lip. She knew, and she also know what the chances were, which made it all the more harder. Morally, she knew he needed to know, that she needed to tell him, but she simply couldn't bring herself to say anything. Perhaps…this was what it had been like for her Mother…no, her Mother had used to the excuse of being under orders not to tell her about her children, this wasn't like that, "I just can't see…" he tried to explain, unaware of the Time Lady's pained struggle, "It's like it's…hidden".

"We'll get there," the Hatter assured him, trying hard to give him a smile, but she wasn't sure how well it turned out.

"Not enough power," the Doctor sighed as he fiddled with the device before jumping up, "Come on!" he grabbed the Hatter's hand, "Avanti!"

They set off down a tunnel that was coming off the back of the room, moving slowly and carefully, forced to bend slightly because of the low ceiling. Every now and then, the Doctor would cast a amused or startled look back at the Time Lady, hearing her mutter violent curse words under her breath in Gallifreyan, most of which he had taught her when they had been kids, and even a few that not even he had known about as she was forced to duck lower because of her bonnet and she kept tripping over the edge of her skirts.

Yep, that dress was definitely going to end up in a black hole, and she would probably stand there, laughing quite happily as she threw it in. Sometimes, she really did terrify him.

"What do the Cybermen want?" Rosita asked as they continued, seeming to have been wondering for a while.

"They want us," the Doctor replied grimly, since the Hatter was too busy trying not to end up face-planting to answer, "That's what the Cybermen are. Human beings with their brains put into a metal shells. They want every living thing to be like them".

They rounded a corner a moment later and found themselves looking down through a gape in a drain into a large workroom were the children were all being forced to do different tasks, some moving boxes around, other's working on large machines, and some shovelling coal into big fires, all the while being watched by a couple of Cybermen.

"Upon my soul," Jackson gasped, his eyes wide as looked around at the children.

"The poor things," the Hatter murmured, looking around, her mothering instincts making another appearance.

Rosita frowned, "What is it?" she questioned.

"It's an engine," the Doctor answered.

"They're generating electricity," the Time Lady remarked thoughtfully, titling her head so that she could get a better look, watching very large gears turning.

The Doctor nodded, eyeing the machines, "But what for?"

Jackson moved to stand, "We can set them free".

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no…" the Time Lord's quickly stopped him, turning and hurrying away from the gap, heading back the way they had come, Rosita and Jackson following. They quickly turned a corner and found a panel on the wall, reading the power levels, "Power at ninety percent," the Doctor read, slipping his glasses on, "But if we stop the engine, the power dies down, the Cybermen'll come running…"

"Hang on…" the Hatter cut in, frowning as the panel turned to static, and she lightly tapped it, "That's…a power fluctuation," she exchanged a look with the Doctor, "That's not supposed to happen".

"It's going wrong?" Jackson looked at the Time Lords.

"No, it's weird," the Doctor shook his head, eyeing the panel, "The software's rewriting itself. It's changing," suddenly, the panel sparked and they jumped back, their eyes widening, "Whoa! What the hell's happening?" he turned the Time Lady, who looked just as confused and surprised as him, "It's out of control!"

"It's accelerating…" Jackson realised, looking at the panel as the static disappeared, "Ninety six percent, ninety seven…"

"When it reaches a hundred, what about the children?" Rosita asked in alarm.

"They're disposable," the Hatter said grimly, feeling sick.

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted, grabbing the Time Lady's hand, who quickly grasped a handful of her skirt with her free one, and ran.

They ran as fast as they could back to the engine room, to find alarms blearing, all the children stopped what they were doing, looking around fearfully as the Cybermen began marching towards them, calling, "Delete! Delete!"

"Right!" the Doctor and the Hatter called as they ran further into the room, looking around at all the kids, "Now, all of you, out!" Jackson and Rosita rushed around the room, firing infostamps on the Cybermen, stopping them, "Do you hear us? That's an order! Every single one of you, run!"

"Come on, children!" the Hatter gently, but quickly began ushering a group of children towards the doors, "Run, run as fast as you can. Go on!"

"All of you, come on!" Jackson tried ushering more children out, "As fast as you can. Come on!"

The Doctor jumped up onto a piece of equipment, "There's a hot pie for everyone, if you can leg it!" he told them all loudly.

"Go!"

"Rosita!" the Hatter hurried over to her, instructing her, "Get all the kids out of the sluice gate, okay? And once you're all out, just keep running!" she looked around the room, "As far as you can!"

She nodded and ran off to do what she was told, as a group of children came running from up the back, "Come on!" the Doctor ushered them past him, "Come on, come on!"

"Turn right at the corner!" Rosita called to the kids, urging them on, following after them to make sure that they got out, "Fast as you can! And don't stop! Keep running! Keep running!"

"Go!" the Doctor called as the last of the children ran out, "Quick, quick!" the Hatter quickly joined him after making sure that a couple of children had left, frowning at a gauge just inside a doorway, "It's some sort of starter motor, but starting what?" he asked aloud.

"It could be anything," the Hatter commented before pausing, moving closer to the gauge, "Wait, I think it might be…"

"That's my son…" they heard Jackson breathed, staring up at something high, "My son," they looked over to him, "Doctor, Hatter, my son!" he shouted to them and they ran over to him, looking up to see a little boy standing, frozen with fear, on a scaffolding above them.

"What?" the Doctor blinked as the Hatter broke into a huge, relieved smile.

"They took my son," he told them, almost beside himself with happiness, tears filling his eyes, "No wonder my mind escaped me. Those damned Cybermen, they took my child!" he looked back up at the boy, "But he's alive, Doctor, Hatter!" and called out, "Frederick!"

"Come on!" the Doctor tried to urge him to jump.

"No, he's terrified," the Hatter shook her head, looking up at the boy, desperate to get him down and to safety, not to mention back in the arms of his father, "Someone needs to get him, and this blasted dress…" she trailed off, mumbling curse words under her breath.

"Stay there!" Jackson called up to his son, "Don't move! I'm coming," he turned and began running for the stairs, but before he could reach them a large explosion forced him back, knocking him down. The Time Lords ran over to him, helping him back up, "I can't get there," he cried, "Fred!"

"They've finished with the motor," the Doctor looked around as flames began springing up around the room, "It's going to blow up!"

"What are we going to do, Doctor, Hatter? What are we going to do?"

"Come on, Jackson," the Doctor pulled out the cutlass that he had kept from the Reverend's house from his pocket, sending the Time Lady a wink as he grabbed a bit of rope that was attached to the scaffolding, "You know me," he cut the rope, flinging the sword aside as he was pulled up, a weight falling down on the other end as he landed on the scaffolding, "Oh, that's it," he grinned at the boy, "Hello! Now, hold on tight. Don't let go," he told him, letting Frederic jump on his back and lifted him up.

Down below, the Hatter and Jackson watched, the Time Lady smiling broadly as the Doctor grabbed hold of the rope and swung off the platform, across the room, just as a large explosion happened right were the boy had been. The Doctor ran through the smoke, clutching tightly to the boy in his arms as he hurried down a set of stairs, and over to them, grinning as he placed Frederick into his father's arms.

"Merry Christmas!" he laughed before turning the Hatter, and hugging her tightly.

"Do you have any idea how unfair it is that you got to do that?" she grumbled slightly in his ear, sighing as he laughed again, "If it wasn't for this dress, I would have done it in a heartbeat, but no, you get to have all the fun," more flames began spreading up all over the place, and they quickly pulled apart, "Ah…I think it's time we go now," she glanced at Jackson, giving the child in his arms a bright, reassuring smile.

Sparks began flying everywhere as they tired running out of the room, but luckily there was still one entrance that hadn't been blocked off by flames, and they quickly ran back down the same tunnel as the one they had come through, running back through into Jackson's cellar, "Head for the street!" the Time Lords called, just as a large explosion sounded from behind them, causing dust to fill the air, and almost make them lose balance.

"Come on, Doctor, Hatter!" Jackson called urgently to them as the Dimension Vault made a sound, and they focused on it, "Hurry up!"

"Gotcha!" the Doctor grinned, twisting a couple of dials and pulling a large sceptre-like object from the device, and turned to follow after him.

They followed after him as he led them back up through the house and out onto the streets, were they ran towards the river. They paused, their eyes wide as they took in the massive machine that was standing above them in the river.

"It's a Cyberking!" the Hatter gasped as they came to a stop, looking horrified.

"And a Cyberking is what?" Jackson asked, frowning worriedly, looking over at the Time Lords, and clutched his son tighter to him.

"It's a ship!" the Doctor explained, looking just as horrified as the Time Lady, "Dreadnought class. First line of an invasion. And inside the chest, a Cyberfactory, ready to covert millions".

They could only watch on, unable to stop it as the massive machine began to walk through London, not caring what it stepped on or destroyed as people began screaming, running frantically, trying to get away, and the streets filling with chaos.

The Hatter turned to Jackson, looking deeply concerned, "You need to head south," she told him, gesturing in the direction, focusing her eyes on the child in his arms, "Take him south, try to get to the parkland, okay?"

Jackson's eyes widen in alarm, "But where are you two going?"

"To stop that thing," the Doctor replied.

"But I should be with you".

"Jackson, think of your son," the Time Lady told him gently, giving him a small smile, "He's your main focus now".

"You've got a reason to live," the Doctor nodded along with her.

"And you haven't?" he tried arguing, looking in between them.

The Doctor smiled, taking the Hatter's hand, "We have each other," he turned back to him, taking a deep breath, "And were one of us goes, so does the other".

Jackson looked at them a long moment, seeing the commitment that they held for each other, and nodded, "God save you both".

The Time Lords ran, the Time Lady grasping a handful of her skirts as they raced back to the stabiles, and through the doors, quickly setting to work rummaging around in the luggage.

"What the hell is that thing, sir, ma'am?" Jed demanded, standing up, looking shaken.

The Doctor glanced over at him, "Oh, good man!" he grinned, turning back to rummage through the case, "Jed, wasn't it? Jed, we need your help!"

"I'm not going out there!" he quickly told them, pointing back towards the door as the Doctor straighten, another belt of infostamps slung over his shoulder.

The Hatter raised an eyebrow at him, "We'll give you…say, five pound notes?" she offered.

Jed hesitated, clearly torn, "Er…all right," he finally agreed, "What do you want me to do?"

"The TARDIS is gonna fly!" the Doctor exclaimed as loud explosions started sounding as they raced outside, back into the yard, and over to the balloon, both Time Lords climbing into the basket…well, the Doctor had to help the Hatter over it before climbing in himself, struggling not to make a remark that would end up with him getting slapped.

"You're flaming bonkers, sir, ma'am!" Jed called to them, staring at them wide eyed.

"So we've been told," the Hatter laughed before taking the Dimension Vault from the Doctor, frowning at it as she examined it closely, "Oh, dear, still not enough power…"

The Doctor sighed, looking over at Jed, "Jed, let her loose!"

Jed ran around the side and began untying the ropes securing the balloon, "Ever flown of these before?" he asked them.

"Ah…" the Hatter paused, looking at the Doctor, not having thought about that, "You have…right?"

"Nope, never," he replied, shaking his head, flashing her a smile that only made her feel even more nervous.

"Brilliant," she groaned, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose, "Just know this, sweetheart, If I die in this damn dress, I will kill you in the most unpleasant ways that I can think of," she open her eyes and gave him a look, "And I can be_ very_ imaginative".

"You know, sometimes you terrify me".

Jed coughed, moving on to the next rope, "Can I have my money now?" he asked them wearily.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, looking slightly annoyed, "Oh, get on with it!"

Jed finished up the last rope and the balloon began to rise, floating up into the night sky as he looked up at them, "Good luck to you, sir!" he called up to them, laughing.

As they continued rising, the Doctor and the Hatter quickly set to work throwing sandbags and a basket over the side, helping them to rise faster as the Doctor grabbed the belt of infostamps, twisting it around his arm in preparation.

"You know, we could probably have risen faster if I wasn't wearing this dress," the Time Lady remarked lightly, but the look she gave him was anything bit, "I mean, this whole thing is quite heavy…"

"You could always take it off," he replied without thinking it through, and no sooner had the words left his mouth did he realise exactly what he had said, and a blush immediately covered his face as he turned to her, his eyes wide, "Ah…I, er…um…" he stuttered, coughing.

The Hatter raised her eyebrows so high, that they almost reached her hairline, "Goodness, Doctor, that could almost be classed as a Freudian slip," she commented, grateful that it was dark enough to hide her own blush, "Well…perhaps this dress isn't quite so bad," a smile began spreading across her face as she gave him a teasing look, "I actually managed to make you blush because of it and I really didn't have to do anything, and that's always a good thing".

"I didn't…I…"

"Sweetheart, your only making it worse for yourself," she cut him off, sounding highly amused, "I suggest that you stop talking now…unless, of course, you wish that rather interesting shade of red you've turned to turn into a beacon for all of London to see".

And with that advice in mind, he quickly shut his mouth, swallowing as he looked at her from the corner of his eye, dreading the teasing she was going to give him for…well, the rest of their lives about this. In two hundred years' time, she was probably going to make an offhand, sly comment about it, and it will take him a moment before he caught on. That was just _so_ typical of her.

The higher they climbed in the balloon, the closer they came to the massive machine, when it suddenly turned in their direction, revealing Miss Hatigan sitting in a metal throne in the middle of the machine's head, a number of Cybermen and the furry Cyber creatures, Shades, surrounding her.

"Excellent," she said as she looked at them, her eyes completely black, and a Cyber-like head piece sitting on top of her head, "The Doctor and the Hatter," she scoffed, "Yet another man come to assert himself against me in the night".

"Miss Hartigan?" the Doctor called to her, "We're offering you a choice. You might have the most remarkable mind this world has ever seen. Strong enough to control the Cybermen themselves!"

"I don't need you to sanction me," she glared at them.

"Indeed, not," the Hatter agreed, nodding, "But a mind like that, it deserves to live, to live and thrive! Please, the Cybermen, they came to this world through the use of a Dimension Vault, and we can use that device to send you to a new home!"

"With no people to covert," the Doctor continued, "But a new world where you can live out your mechanical life in peace."

"I have the world below, and it is abundant with so many minds ready to become extensions of me," Hartigan replied, not looking the slightest bit impressed by them, "Why would I leave this place?"

"Because if you don't…we'll have to stop you," he informed her, swallowing as he exchanged a look with the Hatter, truly not wishing to have to.

"What do you think of me, sir?" she demanded, looking angry, "An idiot?"

"Not at all," the Hatter shook her head, looking grave, "But the question is, what do you make of us?"

The Doctor held out his arm, aiming the infostamps at Hartingan.

"Destroy him!"

The Doctor looked at her regretfully, but determined, "You make me into this".

"No," the Hatter grabbed his other arm, the one not aimed at Hartigan, "We do this together, you and I, sweetheart. Always, you and I".

He gave her a grim, small smile, looking back to Hartigan, and fired the entire belt of inforstamps at her with a twist of his wrist. A bright blue beam of energy shot out and hit her, focused in on the head piece she wore, until all the energy in the stamps was drained, and she was left seemingly unharmed.

"Then I have made you a failure," she remarked, sounding more amused then anything, "Your weapons are useless, sir".

"Our intention wasn't to kill you," the Hatter informed her sadly, taking note that her eyes had returned to their normal state, "We simply broke the Cyber-connection, leaving your mind open".

"Open, I think, for the first time in far too many years," the Doctor added, looking at her grimly, "So you can see…just look at yourself," she began gasping, looking panicked, "Look at what you've done," they watched as she began looking at the Cybermen, her eyes widening in horror, "We're sorry, Miss Hartigan, but look at what you've become".

She started screaming, completely stricken and horrified as she looked at the Cybermen, down at her hands that were strapped down to the arms of her metal throne, and back to the Cybermen.

The Hatter sighed heavily, "We're so, so, sorry," she breathed.

The screaming continued, reaching an ear piercing pitch as an electoral current began running throughout all the Cybermen and on her head piece, causing them to all start shacking, until all the Cybermen exploded, taking her along with them. With its controller destroyed, the massive machine started shacking, wobbling on the spot, sparks and flames spring up all over it as he slowly began toppling forward.

"Oh, dear…" the Hatter muttered, her eyes wide as she realised what was going to happen.

Suddenly, something binged, catching there attention, "Ooh," the Doctor grinned, grabbing the Dimension Vault, clicking a button or two on it, "Now you're ready!".

He aimed the device at the Cyberking, firing it, just as it wobbled too far and almost toppled right over the top of London, but the device caught it, pulling it back through into the Time Votex, where it would be safely destroyed. He and the Hatter both sighed in relief, wrapping their arms around each other, dropping the device back down into the balloon basket.

Suddenly, something from below them caught there attention through the silence, and they blinked, looking over the edge to find many people standing in crowds, clapping loudly up at them, cheering. For _them_.

The Time Lords, startled, exchanged looks before breaking into large smiles, and waving down at the crowed, quite shocked and surprised that anyone would be clapping for them as the Doctor grabbed the little bell, and rang it.

"See?" the Doctor glanced at the Time Lady, still ringing the bell, grinning, "Volcano day's all over and down with".

"I believe what you said was that Volcano day _wasn't_ going to happen," she reminded him before giving him a smile, leaning her head on his shoulder, "But, same difference in the end, I suppose".

….

Once they had landed and managed to get through the crowds of people that were there, all wanting to see them, the Time Lords tracked Jackson down, and began heading back towards the TARDIS. The real one, this time.

"The city will recover, as London always does," Jackson remarked to them as they passed through the market that they had first arrived in, people all around hugging each other, simply joyful to be alive and safe, "Though the events of today will be history, spoken of for centuries to come".

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, glancing around, exchanging a small frown with the Time Lady as they walked, arm in arm, "Funny that".

"And new history begins for me," he continued, his voice taking on a low tone, "I find myself a widower, but with my son and with a good friend," he looked over to were Rosita was behind them, adjusting a blanket around his sons shoulders.

"You had better take good care of her," the Hatter told him sternly, "She's brilliant, just the person that you and Frederick need".

Jackson nodded in agreement, "Yes, Frederick will need a nursemaid and I can think of none better," he turned back to them, giving them a smile, "But you're welcome to join us. We thought we might dine together at the Traveller's Halt…" the Doctor tried to look away, but he continued, "A Christmas feast in celebration…" he lost the smile, "And in memory of those we have lost," he shook his head, looking disappointed, "You won't stay?"

The Doctor gave him a small smile, glancing at the Hatter, "Like I said, you know me".

"No," he shook his head, "I don't think anyone but the Hatter does".

"Ah, but I do have an advantage," the Hatter shot him a smile and a wink, "After all, we've known each other since childhood. You come to learn quite a bit about a person".

Jackson went to say something, but stopped, wide eyes as they rounded a corner and came to the TARDIS, standing right where they had left her under the bridge, "Oh!" he exclaimed, looking excited, "And this is it!" he clapped his hands and hurried closer to the time machine, "Oh! Oh, if I might, Doctor, Hatter?" he looked back at them hopefully, "One last adventure?"

"Oh, be my guest," the Doctor smiled, unlocking the door, pushing the door opened.

Jackson's smile turned into a full blown grin, almost looking like a child who was just given a new toy, "Oh," he breathed in wonder and amazement, walking inside, only to come to a stop as he stared around the console, the Time Lords sliding in after him, "Oh, my word. Oh! Oh, goodness me," he walked forward, laughing as he moved around the side of the console, "But this…but this is nonsense!"

The Hatter laughed as the Doctor nodded, seeming not quite sure how to take that, "Well…that's one word for it…" he agreed.

"Complete and utter, wonderful nonsense!" he shook his head, chuckling, "How very, very silly!" he reached out to touch the console and quickly pulled his hand back, closing his eyes and giving himself a sharp shack, "Oh, no, I can't bear it," he began moving back towards the doors, almost jogging, "Oh, it's causing my head to ache. No, no, no, no, no, no, no…" he rushed past them and back outside, making them blink as they followed him, "Oh! Oh, gracious!" he exclaimed, leaning against the brick wall as they joined him, "That's quite enough," he shook his head, looking up at them, "I take it this is goodbye?"

"Onwards and upwards," the Doctor nodded, the Hatter gave Jackson a small smile.

"Tell me one thing," he looked at the Doctor, "All those facts and figures I saw about the Doctor's life, you were never alone," he titled his head, curiously, "All those bright and shinning companions…the Hatter," he nodded at her with a smile of his own, "But…not anymore?"

"No," he replied, shaking his head, taking the Time Lady's hand.

"Might I ask, why not?"

The Doctor took a deep breath, looking at the Hatter, as he found it easier to talk about something like this when he was looking at her, almost as if he was speaking only to her about it, "They leave," he explained quietly, "Because they should…or they find someone else," he looked over at him, "And some of them…some of them…forget us. I suppose in the end…" he took another deep breath, "…They break my hearts…"

"But we will always have each other," the Hatter told him, giving him a bright smile.

Jackson smiled, watching them, taking a step closer, "That offer of Christmas dinner," he began, "It's no longer a request, it's a demand".

The Doctor smiled slightly, "In memory of those we have lost," he repeated, glancing at the Time Lady, who gave him a look that clearly said that she thought it was a brilliant idea. He gave her a fond look, turning back to Jackson, "Oh, go on, then".

His eyes brighten as he looked between them, "Really?"

"Well, it is Christmas," the Hatter grinned, laughing.

"Just this once," the Doctor added, still smiling, "You've actually gone and changed my mind. Not many people can do that…save for the Hatter," he lightly nudged her side, earning a wink in return, before he focused on the other man, "Jackson, if anyone had to be the Doctor, I'm glad it was you".

"The feast awaits," Jackson grinned, gesturing towards the way they had come, "Come with me. Walk this way".

The Doctor closed the TARDIS doors properly, linking his arm with the Hatter's again, as they turned and started following him, "We certainly will," he smiled brightly over at him, "Merry Christmas to you, Jackson".

"Merry Christmas, indeed, Doctor, Hatter".

"And a happy new year," the Hatter added, laughing as fresh snow began falling.

_**I couldn't help myself with that whole thing about the Hatter being a coat hanger, it's just such a typical thing to have happened to her, and then the Doctor's slip about her dress…well, it was bound to happen. Tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest reviews:**_

_**Guest: Don't worry, the Doctor and the Hatter will be married in this story. That part in the summary was more about how they are going to manage to plan a wedding without Donna's help, since I really can't see either the Doctor or the Hatter being very good at planning weddings. Thanks for the review :)**_


	3. Chapter 3 Planet of the Dead, Part 1

_**Planet of the Dead, Part 1.**_

"Trade you for a bit of Easter egg?" the Doctor asked, wiggling his eyebrows at the Hatter beside him as she popped a yellow jelly baby in her mouth, and holding out his hand that was holding a unwrapped Easter egg.

The Hatter blinked, looking slightly surprised as she eyed the chocolate, "Doctor, exactly how long has that been inside your pocket?" she asked cautiously.

"I just bought it," he shook his head, seeming amused by her question, "It is Easter, the shops are full of them," he frowned, looking back up the busy, night street they had just walked down, "Didn't you see me duck into one back up there?"

"No, I was too busy searching for a tear in space and time, like you were supposed to be," she replied, rolling her eyes at him, but there was a hint of fondness in her voice. She shook her head, casting an eye around the street, frowning slightly as she noticed that there seemed to be a number of police around, "It's Easter, then? Huh, I always seemed to miss that holiday…"

"So did I!" the Doctor grinned, his eyes lighting up as he linked his arm through hers, "Ooh, I've got an idea," he paused, looking across to were a big red double decker bus was stationed.

The Hatter followed his gaze and hesitated, "Ah, sweetheart, busses and us don't seem to get along, remember?"

"Oh, come on! We can drive around on it and see if we can find the tear that way".

Still looking unsure, the Time Lady allowed him to pull her over to the bus, and up the steps, "You're just in time, mate," the driver remarked as the Doctor flashed his psychic paper at the Oyster Card reader.

The doors closed behind them as they moved further into the bus, passing a couple of other passages as they went, before dropping into a seat behind a dark haired young woman, wearing all black in the back of the bus, the Time Lady on the window side since the Doctor had been a gentlemen and let her go ahead of him.

"Hello!" the Doctor flashed the dark haired woman a friendly smile as she looked up at them, seeming startled, "I'm the Doctor and this is the Hatter," he nodded to the blonde beside him, holding out the chocolate egg for the woman, still smiling away, "Happy Easter!"

"Don't mind him," the Hatter smiled a little less excitedly as the Doctor, casting him a look, already having noticed that the woman appeared to be on edge about something, "He's had a bit of sugar today, it always goes straight to his head".

The Doctor mock gasped at her, nudging her side, "Says the woman who carries six bags of jelly baby's everywhere she goes," he said teasingly, "I bet you keep one in your boot, too. Just in case".

"Well, I did think about it, but I figured that was a little over the top, even for me," she replied, sounding and looking completely serious.

He blinked and eyed her, "Are you being serious?" he asked wearily, knowing that if she wasn't then he was probably going to end up being teased.

She looked at him, "Of course".

"Right…" he nodded, still eyeing her before he looked back to the dark haired woman, "Funny thing is, we don't often do Easter," he informed her, "We can never find it. It's always at a different time. Although…" he titled his head in a very Hatter like fashion, "I remember the original. Between you and me, what really happened was…" he trailed off as beeping sound sounded.

"Oh, that'll be the Rhondium Detector," the Hatter brightened, looking quite pleased.

"Sorry, hold on to that for me," the Doctor passed the woman the egg, who didn't exactly have time to argue before it was shoved into her gloved hands, reaching inside his pocket, and glanced back at her, "Actually, go on, have it. Finish it," he shook his head, nodding at the Time Lady, "She's right, it's full of sugar and I'm determined to keep these teeth," he flashed her a wide, toothy smile as he continued searching through his pockets.

The Hatter laughed fondly, shaking her head as she battered his hands away, and reached into the right pocket of his coat, "Honestly, what would you do without me?" she commented, pulling out a small hand held device with lots of wires sticking out all over it, along with a little spinning dish, "Ooh, we've got excitation," she frowned slightly, eyeing the device.

The Doctor bent his head closer to hers, looking closer at the device, a frown of his own settling on his face, "We're picking up something very strange," he leant over and fiddled with something on the device, not seeming to notice that they were receiving odd looks from the passages around them.

"I know the feeling…" the dark haired woman remarked, glancing back outside the window as the bus entered a tunnel.

"Rhondium particles," the Doctor said to the woman, not seeming to realise that she wasn't really paying attention to them, far too caught up in the device as he took it from the Time Lady, "That's what we're looking for. This thing detects them," he frowned, glancing at the Hatter, giving the device a tap, "The Hatter built it, she does that when she's bored".

"That's not right," the Time Lady titled her head, eyeing the device, "The little dish is supposed to be going around".

"Right now, a way out would come in pretty handy," the woman said to them, seeming very nervous, but trying not to show it, "Can you detect me one of those?"

"Ah!" the Doctor grinned, looking almost like a child who had just been given a bag of lollies, "The little dish is going around!"

"Fascinating".

"And round…" his eyes widened, watching as the dish spun faster, and faster, exchanging a look with the Time Lady, when the device suddenly sparked, sending the dish flying, "Whoa!"

A blonde, middle aged woman frowned, brushing the back of her head as she felt something hit it from behind, "Excuse me," she looked up at them as the Doctor jumped out of his seat, still frowning down at the device in his hands, "Do you mind?"

"Sorry," he replied absently, "That was my little dish".

The Hatter coughed, looking amused as she glanced at the young woman in front of her, "He was quite fond of that little dish," she informed her, "Truth be told, sometimes I think he has the mind of a cat. Loves everything and anything that moves".

"Lovely," the woman rolled her eyes, frowning over at the Doctor as the device continued to make a high pitched beeping sound, "Can't you turn that thing off?"

The Doctor shot the Hatter a look as he slipped the device back inside his coat, turning around to the woman, "What was your name?" he asked her.

"Christina," she answered, giving him a smile.

"Christina, hold on tight," he quickly swung himself back down into his seat, grabbing the bar on the seat in front of him, the Time Lady doing the same thing.

"And that goes for everyone else!" the Hatter called, looking around at the others, who just looked back at them, blankly, "Hold on and keep your heads down, because things are going to get rather unpleasant!"

Suddenly, the bus lurched forwards, shaking and jolting around, throwing the Doctor into the aisle as the passages started screaming. The Hatter winced as the side of her head collided with the window beside her, knocking her hat flying, but she kept a tight hold on the bar in front of her.

"Oh, the voices!" a woman at the back of the bus, sitting beside another man, cried out over the sound of other's screaming, "The voices! They're screaming!"

The windows shattered, sending broken glass flying, just as the Hatter threw herself to the side to try avoiding it, causing her to lose her grip on the bar and go flying into the aisle, colliding with the Doctor, who somehow managed to grab hold of her, pulling her closer to him.

Sparks and lights flared all around them, just as a young man fell down the stairs from the upper deck, landing at the bottom, wide eyed, "What's going on?" he called, but he was droned out by all the nose, when suddenly a bright light filled the entire bus, blinding them all.

More glass shattered as the bus continued to jolt and shack, and the bus was flooded with bright light again as everyone tried to shield their eyes, when…the light and the shacking died, replaced with a strange sudden stillness and a golden, yellow light, peaking in through broken windows as the Doctor and the Hatter slowly looked up, climbing to their feet as they stared outside the front window.

They exchanged a look and walked over to the doors, opening them and stepping out into…well, a desert, "End of the line," the Doctor remarked as they looked around, Christina stepping outside the bus behind them, "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton," he glanced at the Time Lady.

"Just a little bit…yeah," the Hatter nodded, turning around in a circle, shielding her eyes from the sun, all three of them, looking around at the completely barren desert like planet, seeing as it very obviously was a different planet from Earth.

The Doctor walked a short distance away from the bus and knelt closely to the ground, practically pressing the side of his face into the sand as he picked up a handful, and letting it run back through his fingers and onto the ground, eyeing it.

"It's impossible," the middle aged blonde woman breathed as she a few of the other passengers, stepped out, staring up at the sky, "There are three suns. Three of them!"

"Like when all those planets were up in the sky," one of the young men added, his eyes wide.

The man who had fallen down the steps shook his head, "But it was the Earth that moved back then, wasn't it?" he looked at him.

"Oh, man, we're on another world!"

The driver stepped out and looked at the bus that was smoking slightly, most of the windows shattered, and the upper deck appeared to have been damaged, "It's still intact," the man gestured to the bus, seeming to be trying to remain positive about the situation, "Not as bad as it looks, and the chassis's still holding together," he sighed, glancing back at them, "My boss is going to murder me".

"Can you still drive it?' the blonde human woman asked him hopefully.

"Oh, no, no, no," he shook his head quickly, "The wheels are stuck," he gestured to them, "Look at them, they're never going to budge".

Christina reached inside her backpack and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, slipping them on as she looked at the Time Lords, both kneeling on the ground, examining the sand, "Ready for any emergency," she commented, smiling.

The Doctor glanced up at her and reached his pocket, taking out his sonic as he slipped his glasses off his face, and flashed the sonic at them, tinting the lens, "Me too," he replied, slipping them back on.

"And let it never be said that I don't come prepared," the Hatter flashed the Doctor a bright smile and a wink, pulling out a pair of rainbow coloured framed sunglasses out of her coats many pockets, slipping them on with a flourish of her wrist, "Now, I just have to locate my lovely hat again," she remarked, glancing back towards the bus, a hint of longing in her face as she did so.

The Doctor glanced at her, pouting, "You know, sometimes I think you love your hats more than anything," he whined quietly, "Even more then_ me_".

The Time Lady laughed and leant closer to him, patting the side of his cheek gently, "Oh, sweetheart, don't be ridicules. I'm marrying you, aren't I?" she gave him a small, cheeky smile, "Besides, it's not as if there's a planet in the Universe that would recognise my husband being a hat…and believe me, I've searched very hard".

"You are joking again, right?"

She gave him a look, "I never joke about my hats, Doctor," she told him firmly.

"Oh, great. My rival for you is a hat".

"Oh, please, I said I was marrying you, didn't I?"

"You know, you could sound a little more happy about it," he shot her a look, but they could both tell that he was only teasing.

"And take away that adorable pout you are currently wearing?" she raised her eyebrows at him, a smile tugging on the corner of her mouth, "Not a chance, sweetheart".

Christina cleared her throat, raising her eyebrows at them…or at least they assumed that she was, since her sunglasses hid half her face from view, "What's your names?" she asked them, apparently not having heard there conversation.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor introduced himself, focusing his attention back on the sand, running it through his fingers.

"And I'm the Hatter," the Time Lady added, flashing her a bright, friendly smile.

"Name, not rank," the dark haired woman said to them.

"The Doctor and she's the Hatter," he replied, still not looking at her.

"Surname".

"He's the Doctor and I'm the Hatter," the Time Lady told her, seeming to be slightly amused by the situation.

"You're called 'the Doctor' and 'the Hatter?'"

"Yes, we are," they nodded in unison.

"That's not names, that's a psychological condition".

The Hatter titled her head at her, seeming to actually consider her remark, "That's debatable," she turned back to the focus on the sand, lifting a handful, and holding it up to her eyes, letting her sunglass slip down her nose, "This sand is quite interesting," she frowned down at the handful, "There seems to be something else in it, odd texture to it…"

"Hmm, there's a trace of something else…" the Doctor agreed and dabbed the tip of his finger into the palm of his hand, and lifted it up to his mouth, tasting it. Immediately, he grimaced and started trying to remove the taste, "Glah, glah, glah, glah, glah. Not good".

The Hatter sighed, shaking her head at him, "Oh, the things that we do to get answers," she remarked.

Christina stared at him, "Well, it wouldn't be," she eyed him, her tone clearly saying that she thought he was mad, "It's sand".

"No, it tastes like…" he trailed off, meeting the Time Lady's eyes over the top of his glasses, exchanging a look before he inhaled deeply and stood, helping the Hatter to stand, "Never mind," he shook his head.

"What is it?" the woman asked, frowning at them, seeming to notice there sudden realisation, "What's wrong?"

"Hold on a minute," they turned around as the young man wearing a red shirt walked towards them, pointing, "I saw you two. You had that thing…that machine! Did you make this happen?" he demanded, pointing back towards the bus.

The Doctor glanced at the Hatter, "Well, I did tell you so," the Time Lady shrugged at him, crossing her arms, looking amused.

"You're enjoying this," he sighed, shaking his head, "Human's on busses, always blaming me…well, us," he nodded at the Hatter and looked back to the now gathering group of humans, "Look, look, if you must know, we were tracking a hole in the fabric of reality".

"It's a bit of a hobby," the Hatter added in, trying to give the human's a calming smile.

"But it was a tiny little hole," the Doctor continued, nodding, "No danger to anyone," he frowned back over to the bus, "Suddenly it gets big, and we drive right through it".

"But then where is it?" the bus driver asked, glancing around at the completely empty land, "There's nothing, there's just sand!"

"All right," the Doctor walked passed them, the Hatter following, a small, concerned frown on her face. The rest of the passages and driver followed after them towards the back of the bus, "You want proof?" he grabbed a handful of sand, "We drove through this," and threw the handful of sand in the air in front of them, causing the air to ripple like a stone had been thrown into a lake.

"And that's…?" Christina began as the Time Lords turned back to them.

"I suppose you could call it a door," the Hatter informed them, glancing over her shoulder as she did, "A door, only it's in space".

"So what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home?" the driver asked hopefully, pointing towards were the ripple had disappeared, "We can get to London back through there?"

The Time Lords exchanged a look, shaking their heads, "The bus came through, but we can't".

He looked back at the others, "Well then, what are we waiting for?" he exclaimed, grinning.

"No, no, don't!" the Time Lords shouted.

"I'm going home, mate!" he started running towards the doorway, ignoring there warning shouts.

"We said don't!"

The Hatter tried leaping forward to try grabbing his arm or the back of his jumper, desperately trying to save his life, but it was too late. They watched, horrified, unable to do anything as the man walked through the doorway and screamed as he began smoking, his skin disvaluing, leaving nothing but bones as he disappeared onto the other side.

"No!" the Hatter cried, and closed her eyes sadly, turning away as the Doctor swallowed, patting her back comfortingly.

"He was a skeleton, man!" the young man with the red shirt called, his eyes wide horror and shock, "He was bones! Just bones!"

The Doctor, wrapping his arm around the Hatter, stepped back towards the others, glancing over at the bus, "It was the bus," he nodded to it, "Look at the damage. That was the bus protecting us. Great big box of metal".

"Rather like a Faraday cage?" Christina realised, glancing at them.

"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah?" the other young man called, trying to comfort the blonde human woman, "Safest place is inside a car, because the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it in school".

Christina looked back to the Time Lords, "But if we can only travel back inside the bus…" she frowned, eyeing the damaged upper deck and shattered windows on the bus, "A Faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open".

The Hatter titled her head and looked back at the bus thoughtfully, "Thing's work a little differently when it comes to wormholes," she informed them, doing a quick calculation in her head, "But by my calculation, which is a little rough, I grant you, there should be enough metal to make it work. Hopefully…"

She nodded slowly, "Then we have to drive five tons of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands," she glanced over at them, raising her eyebrows, "Correct?"

"Well, I would say that it's nine and a half tons…" the Time Lady corrected lightly, giving her a small smile, shrugging, "But your point still stands".

She nodded again, suddenly seeming determined, "Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline," she smiled, reaching inside her bag, "Which starts with appointing a leader".

"Yes," the Doctor immediately nodded in agreement, looking over to the rest of the humans, "At last, thank you. So…"

"Well, thank goodness you've got me," Christina cut him off, looking up at the others, causing the Doctor to blink in surprise as the Hatter struggled not to laugh, "Everyone do exactly as I say," she continued to smile at them, "Inside the bus immediately".

"Is it safe in there?" the young man asked her, gesturing towards the bus.

"I don't think anything's safe anymore," she replied as the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, seeming to be still trying to get over not being the one in charge, "But if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking is slower," she gave them raised eyebrow look, "Come on. All of you. Right now. And you two…" she turned to the Time Lords as the blonde human woman hurried over to the bus, "…'the Doctor' and 'the Hatter'".

"Yes, ma'am," the Doctor nodded, giving her a mock nod, and took the Hatter's hand, who tipped an invisible hat at the other woman, appearing quite amused.

"Up! Come on".

"You know, I quite like her," the Hatter remarked softly to the Doctor as they walked over to the bus, "She reminds me a little of myself".

"I was just thinking that myself," the Doctor agreed, casting her a fond smile.

…

"…point five," Christina continued from where she stood at the front of the bus, her arms behind her back as the other passengers and the Time Lords watched on from there seats, the Hatter looking quite pleased with her hat back on her head, "The crucial thing is, do not panic. Quite apart from anything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels," a few of the passages glanced around, seeming slightly guilty, "We don't need to add any more. Point six: Team identification. Names. I'm Christina," she smiled, gesturing to herself, "And this man is apparently 'the Doctor' and she's 'the Hatter,'" she gestured over to them.

"Hello," the Time Lord grinned, giving the other's around them a little wave.

She turned to one of the young men closest to her, "And you…?"

"Nathan," he answered, giving them an awkward wave.

The second young man in the red shirt nodded, "I'm Barclay".

"Angela," the blonde human woman replied, "Angela Wittaker".

They skipped over the Time Lords and looked back to the back of the bus were a middle aged couple were sitting, "My name's Louis," the man told them, "Everyone calls me Lou. And this is Carmen," he looked at the woman sitting beside him, apparently his wife.

"Excellent," Christina smiled around at them all, "Memorise those names, there might be a test," the Time Lord exchanged an amused look, "Point seven: Assessment and application of knowledge. Over to you, 'the Doctor' and 'the Hatter,'" she turned towards them, raising her eyebrows at them.

"I thought you were in charge," the Doctor commented.

"I am," she smiled smugly at them, "And a good leader utilises her strength. You two seem to be the brainbox. So, start boxing".

"Right…" he nodded and moved to sit on the back of the seat so that he could look around them better, the Hatter tucking her knees under her as she knelt on the seat, "So, the wormhole. We were at the wrong place at the wrong time".

The Time Lady coughed, giving him a pointed look, "I did say that busses and us are bad luck".

"And I'll never forgot it," he flashed her a smile before turning back to the others, looking serious, "It was just an accident".

"No, it wasn't," Carmen suddenly shook her head, making everyone look at her, "That thing…the doorway? Someone made it for a reason".

The Time Lords looked at her curiously, "How do you know that?"

Carmen opened and closed her mouth, looking down, seeming embarrassed, "She's got a gift," Lou told them proudly, smiling at her, "Ever since she was a little girl, she can just tell things," he looked back over at them, "We do the lottery twice a week".

"Oh, how interesting," the Hatter remarked, moving around the Doctor to try and get closer to the couple.

Christina scoffed, "You don't look like millionaires".

Lou looked over to her, seeming unsurprised by her comment, "No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds," he smiled, shaking his head at her, "Don't tell me that's not a gift".

"Quite right," the Hatter smiled broadly at the couple, giving Carmen an encouraging look as she looked down again, "You have nothing to feel embarrassed about, Carmen," she said to her gently, "My youngest daughter had a similar ability as you, and she went through a phase were she hated her gift, but eventually, she came to see it for exactly what it is. A gift".

"Tell me, Carmen," the Doctor began, putting his hand behind his back, holding up three fingers, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," the woman answered and he added another finger, "Four".

"Very good," he smiled at her.

"She has a low level psychic ability," the Hatter nodded, flashing the woman another bright smile, "It must be heightened by the alien suns," she pointed over her shoulder, towards the landscape outside.

The Doctor moved to sit beside the Time Lady, so that he too could be closer to the couple, "What can you see, Carmen?" he asked her, his voice soft, "Tell us, what's out there?"

Carmen looked off into the distance, looking almost fearful, "Something…something is coming," she breathed after a moment, "Riding on the wind," her eyes widened slightly, "And shining".

"What is it?" the Hatter questioned gently.

"Death," she replied, frowning, "Death is coming".

Angela closed her eyes painfully, "We're going to die!" she cried, looking away from them.

"I knew it, man," Barclay groaned, starting to sound panicked as he shifted in his seat, "I said so!"

"We can't die out her," Nathan desperately shook his head, looking very afraid, "No one's going to find us".

"This isn't exactly helping," Christina told them, trying to talk over the top of them.

"You can shut up, too!" Barclary turned and pointed at her, looking angry, "We're not your soldiers".

Everyone started shouting at each other, panicking as Christina tried to calm them down, only it seemed to only make things worse, "That's not doing any good!" she tried again.

Lou looked worriedly at his wife, seeing how upset she was starting to get from all the shouting, "Quite!" he called.

"Will we be bones, like the bus driver?" Nathan wondered, wringing his hands together.

"Stop whimpering, all of you!" Christina ordered, but they ignored her, still shouting, panic stricken.

"All right now, stop it," the Doctor tried holding up his hands, trying to calm them all down, "Everyone, stop it!" he called loudly, making everyone fall silent with only Angela's sobbing to be heard.

The Hatter quickly moved to the woman's side and knelt in front of her, gently taking her hands, "Hey, it's going to be okay," she tried soothing her gently, giving her a comforting smile, "Angela, just look at me, all right?" slowly, the woman blinked back tears and looked at her, "Now, tell me, when you got on this bus, where were you going? Just tell me".

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" Angela sniffed, struggling to hold back a sob.

"Oh, of course it does, because it matters to me," the Time Lady smiled at her again.

She shrugged, glancing at her, "Just home".

"Lovely. Now, tell me about home, Angela. What's home to you?"

"Me and Mike, and Suzanne," she began crying again, just thinking about them, "That's my daughter. She's eighteen".

"Eighteen year old Suzanne," the Hatter nodded, still smiling at her, "Wonderful age. You must be so proud," she gave her a comforting look, wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

The Doctor smiled softly at her, knowing better than anyone that she always seemed to know just the right the thing's to say to console and calm a person, even as a child she had been that way. She never could just walk past a person who needed help, even when the person didn't see it yet themselves. He looked over to Barclay, "What about you?" he asked him.

"Don't know," the young man shrugged, glancing down, "Going round Tina's".

"Who's Tina? Your girlfriend?"

Barclay smiled slightly, looking up, "Not yet".

"Good boy!" the Doctor grinned cheekily back at him, exchanging a quick smile with the Time Lady before he turned to the second young man, "What about you, Nathan?"

"Bit strapped for cash," Nathan sighed, lifting one shoulder in a small shrug, "I lost my job last week. I was going to stay in and watch TV".

"Sounds brilliant," the Hatter smiled broadly at him, still with her arm wrapped around Angela's shoulder, "Just make sure it's something with humour in it," she looked over to Lou and Carmen, "And what about you two?"

"I was going to cook," Lou replied.

"It's his turn tonight," Carmen added, pointing at her husband, "Then I clear up".

"What's for tea?" the Doctor asked them.

"Chops," Lou told them, shrugging, "Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special".

"Oh, but that is just _so_ special," the Hatter shook her head, looking around at the others, "Chops and gravy, delicious".

The Doctor looked at Christina, "What about you, Christina?" he called to her.

For a moment, Christina looked startled by the question, "I was going…so far away," she finally answered, avoiding everyone's eyes.

"Far away," he nodded, looking around at the rest of the bus, "Chops and gravy. Watching TV. Mike and Suzanne, and poor Tina".

"Hey!" Barclay laughed, pointing at him.

"Just think about them, everyone," the Hatter told them all, looking around, "All those people who mean so much to you, the little things that you take for granted in your daily lives, the place that you call home. Think about them, because, you see that planet out there?" she pointed outside one of the shattered windows, "The three sun's, wormholes, and that alien sand, compared to what your have waiting for you, it's meaningless".

"Food and home, and people," the Doctor continued, looking at each person in turn, "Hold on to that, because we're going to get there. I promise…"

"_We_ promise," the Time Lady corrected him, "And I always keep my promises".

He nodded, giving her a small smile before he looked back to everyone, "We're going to get you home".

….

The Time Lords were standing outside the bus with Christina, examining just how deeply the tires had sunk into the sand as Barclay and Nathan came jogging out of the bus, each holding the back panelling of the busses seats.

"Here we go!" Barclay called as he reached them.

"That's my boys!" the Doctor grinned as he grabbed the panel from Barclay's hand, holding it on its side, "See, we lay a flat surface between the bus and the wormhole, like duckboards, and we reverse into it," he explained, handing the panel to Nathan.

"Let some of the air out of the tyres," Christina added, gesturing to the wheels as they looked at her, "Just a little. It spreads the weight of the bus, gives you more grip against the sand".

"Oh, that's quite clever," the Hatter remarked, looking surprised by her knowledge.

She smiled, "Holiday's in the Kalahari".

"Yeah, but those wheels go deep," Barclay frowned over at the wheels.

"Then start digging".

"With what?"

"With this," she reached inside the backpack and pulled out a fold out spade, handing it to the Doctor, whose eyes widened down at the bag.

The Doctor unfolded the shovel and handed it to Barclay, raising his eyebrows at Christina, "Got anything else in there?"

"Try that…" she reached inside the bag again, pulling out a small hatchet, and passed it to Nathan, "It might help with the seats".

"Thanks," Nathan smiled at her, taking the tool, and walking back towards the bus.

"Goodness, you weren't joking about being prepared for anything," the Hatter commented, sounding quite amused. It was almost like her and the Doctor's pockets, only the bag couldn't possibly be made from Time Lord technology. Still, that didn't make it any less amusing.

"I can't find the keys!" Angela called to them from behind the wheel of the bus.

The Time Lords quickly jogged back over to look through the open doors, "Oh, no, buses don't have keys," the Doctor informed her, shaking his head, "There's a master switch, then it's one button to start, the other one to stop, yeah?"

"Right, hold on," Angela nodded, looking down at the controls, "Oh, I've got it. Here we go. Hold tight. Ding, ding!" she pressed one of the buttons, starting the engine, when it spluttered and died.

"Oh, dear," the Hatter sighed, wincing slightly, "That's certainly not the sound you want to hear".

She and the Doctor, along with Christina, moved around to the back of the bus, opening the engine panel. They coughed, their eyes watering slightly, and waved their hands in front of them as a smoke flew back up at them, but once that was clear they finally found what the problem really was.

"Oh, never mind losing half the top deck," the Doctor shook his head, eyeing the engine that was covered in sand, "You know what's worse? Sand," he reached forwards and ran a finger over the little grains on the motor, not seeming to care if he burnt his fingers, much to the Time Lady's mild exasperation, who pulled his hand back, giving him a look, "Ah, sorry, dear," he smiled guiltily at her, glancing at Christina, "Tiny little grains of sand. The engines clogged up".

The dark haired woman sighed and stepped back around the side of the bus, calling, "Does anyone know mechanics?"

"Me," Barclay held up a hand and climbed back onto his feet from where he had been kneeling on the sand, setting the panels down for the wheels, "I did a two week NVQ at the garage," he hesitated, "Never finished it, but…"

"Off you go," the Doctor gestured with his head back towards the engine as he and the Hatter stepped around the side, also, "Try stripping the air filter. Fast as you can".

"I could help?" the Hatter offered, shrugging, a smile crossing her face, "I've always been quite fond of playing with engines, it started as a way to annoy my Mother, and it kind of stuck".

The Doctor pouted at her, "You would leave me alone to go play with an engine?"

"Well…you do have to admit, that engines can be rather fun," she titled her head, "But since this is you, and you will probably end up getting yourself killed without me, I suppose that I should probably stay around you. After all, what would I ever do without my Doctor?" she grinned and winked at him.

He grinned broadly back at her and kissed her cheek, before taking her hand, "Back in a tick," and turned, beginning to walk away together.

"Wait a minute," Christina quickly followed after them, frowning, "You're the man and woman with all the answers. I'm not letting you out of my sight".

And with that, they continued to make there why through the desert, until they could no longer see the big red bus behind them. The Time Lands glanced at Christina, eyeing the bag that she had slung over one shoulder.

"You know, you would probably find tracking through the desert far easier if you had just left that backpack behind," the Hatter remarked, nodding to it as they reached the top of a sand dune, "It would have been safe there, plus, less strain on your back".

"Where I go, it goes," she replied simply.

"A backpack with a spade and an axe," the Doctor glanced at her, "Christina, who's going so far away, and yet scared by the sound of a siren," he eyed her closely for a moment, "Who are you?"

"You two can talk. Let's just say we're two equal mysteries," she looked over at them, "Come on, then. Tell me. If Carmen's right, if that wormhole's not an accident, then what is?" she frowned, "Has someone done this on purpose?"

"We don't know that, not yet," the Hatter shook her head, casting a look around the bare landscape with a weary look as they came to a stop on another dune, "But I can certainly say that every instinct I have is saying that this, no matter how pretty it may be, is dangerous, and that we should leave right now".

Christina glanced around, also, "And do you think we can?" she asked.

"We live in hope," the Doctor replied, sending the Time Lady a smile.

"That must be nice," she said to them, her tone suddenly sounding morose as they glanced at her, mildly surprised by her change in mood, but they quickly looked back out at the desert as she looked at them, "It's Christina de Souza," she held out her hand, giving them a small smile, "To be precise, Lady Christina de Souza".

"Ooh, that's handy," the Doctor smiled, shaking her hand, followed by the Hatter, "Because I'm a Lord and the Hatter's a Dame," he shot the Time Lady a grin, knowing how much she hated formalities, especially when those formalities happened to be her respectful title.

True to form, the Hatter glared at him and smacked his arm, "Oh, I am so going to get you back for that one, sweetheart," she assured him, very serious.

"Seriously?" Christina raised her eyebrows, looking surprised as she stared at them, "A Lord and Dame of where?"

"It's quite a big estate," the Doctor told her, wincing slightly from the glare the Time Lady gave him.

"No, but there's something more about you two," she shook her head, eyeing them carefully, "That device you were carrying, and the wormhole. Like you knew. And the way you stride around this place, like…" she trailed off, her eyes narrowed.

"Like?" they looked back at her.

"Like you're not quite…"

They looked at each other for a long moment before the Doctor shook his head, looking away, "Anyway, come on," he turned and began leading them onwards again, "Allons-y".

"Oui, mais pas si nous allons vers un cauchemar," Christina called after them as they walked, saying in French, 'Yes, but not if we go to a nightmare'.

The Hatter laughed, "Oh, I knew I liked you".

They continued walking for a couple of minutes before coming to another stop on top of a dune, looking out to the distance as the Time Lords frowned, squinting their eyes as they spotted a strange, hazy cloud far off into the distance.

"Ah, I don't like the look of that," the Doctor remarked, still frowning at it.

"Storm clouds," Christina shielded her eyes from the sun's glare, "Must be hundreds of miles away".

"Yes, but getting closer even as we speak," the Hatter nodded, eyeing it carefully, looking concerned.

"If that's a sand storm, we'll get ripped to shreds," she looked at them, worriedly.

"It's a storm," the Doctor agreed, casting her a sideways look, "Who says its sand?"

And with that, they turned and ran back towards the bus.

…

As they reached the bus, the Hatter called to Barclay, who was outside with Nathan, "Phone, Barclay?" he blinked and looked back around at them, "We need to borrow your phone!"

"Oh…ah, in the bus," he told them.

They raced inside, looking around, "Where is it?" the Doctor asked him quickly.

"There!" Barclay pointed towards were he had been sitting earlier as he followed them, along with Christina, into the bus, "There, on the seat!"

The Doctor grabbed the mobile phone and flashed his sonic at it as the Hatter stood by his side.

"You're hardly going to get a signal," Christina rolled her eyes at them, "We're on another planet!"

"Oh, just watch me!" he grinned and finished sonicing the phone, pocketing the sonic, "Right. Now, bit of hush, thank you," he held out the phone and began dialling a number, "Got to remember the number, very important number…"

"Hello, Pizza Geronimo?" a man's voice answered.

The Hatter faced palmed, "Oh, you idiot," she shook her head, looking more fond and amused then anything as she held out her hand, "Just give it to me and let me handle calling people, sweetheart".

"Seven six, not six seven," the Doctor sighed as he handed the phone over, watching as she started dialling the right number this time. He glanced at the others, who were all watching, "She always has been better at remembering number sequences then me".

"Only because I actually take note of them while you only pretend to," she replied, casting him a look.

A moment passed before an automatic voice came over the phone, "This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. Please select one of the following four options. If you want to…"

"Oh, I hate these things," the Doctor groaned as the Hatter sighed, nodding in agreement.

"If you keep your finger pressed on zero, you get through to a real person," Angela told them from where she was standing closer to the front of the bus, glancing at Barclay behind her, "I saw it on Watchdog".

"Ah, thank you very much, Angela," the Hatter sent her a smile as she did just what she had said, pressing the zero button down.

"Unit helpline," a woman's voice came over a moment later as the Time Lords sat down on the seat behind them, "Which department would you like?"

"Listen, it's the Doctor and the Hatter," the Doctor lent closer towards the phone in the Time Lady's hand, his voice very serious, "It's us".

"Please wait as we transfer your call," she continued, and rock music started playing as the Time Lords eyes widened, exchanging a look.

"Is it just me or has Unit developed an…interesting sense of humour?" the Hatter asked, looking back to the phone, seeming to be only just containing herself from bursting into a fit of laughter.

The Doctor glanced at her, "Well, they can blame you for that. If I remember correctly, you hacked into Units speaker system while we were working with them in the 70's and made numerous genres of music play for an entire week. Thankfully, the Brig was away for that week".

She rolled her eyes at him, nudging his side, "Yeah, and who was the one who helped me?" she gave him a raised eyebrow look, "It was you who suggested that we should do something fun that week because we were bored. I only suggested that we should revisit our pranking days, _you_ were the one who said that we should do something memorable".

"Looks like we succeeded," he commented, glancing at the phone, shaking his head.

A minute or two passed before another woman's voice came over the phone, the music that was just getting to a rather good bit in the song fading, much to the Time Lady's mild disappointment, "Doctor, Hatter?" the woman asked, sounding slightly breathless, "This is Captain Erisa Magambo," the Time Lords exchanged a look, "Might I say, sir, ma'am, it's an honour…"

The narrowed there eyes slightly, "Did you just salute?" they questioned her, knowing full well that she had.

"…no".

"Whatever you say," the Hatter laughed, shaking her head before quickly turning serious, "Now, Erisa, this is about that double decker bus. HQ said that you're at the tunnel, yes?"

"And where are you?"

"We're on the bus," the Doctor replied, "But apart from that, not a clue," he took the phone and moved across to look outside the window, "Except its very pretty and pretty dangerous".

"A body came through here," Erisa said to them, sounding worried, "Have you sustained any more fatalities?"

"No, we're all perfectly fine here, and we plan to keep it that way," the Hatter told her firmly as the Doctor moved back to sit beside her again.

"But we're stuck," the Doctor informed her, "We haven't got the TARDIS, and we need to analyse that wormhole".

"We have a scientific adviser on site. Doctor Malcolm Taylor. Just the man you need. He's a genius".

"Oh, is he?" he raised his eyebrows, sounding doubtful, "We'll see about that".

The Hatter shot him a look, nudging his side, "Be nice, Doctor," she said sternly, "Not everyone can have the advantages that come from being a Time Lord and Lady. Give the poor man a chance".

There was a pause, the sound of a door opening and closing on the other end before Erisa spoke again, but obviously to someone else, her tone hurried and slightly distant, "It's the Doctor and the Hatter".

"No, I'm all right now, thanks," a man's voice replied, also sounding slightly distant, "It was just a bit of a sore throat, and why would I need a hatter? Although, I've got to be honest, a cup of tea might be nice…"

"It's _the_ Doctor and _the_ Hatter," she stressed, seeming almost frustrated by the man's lack of understanding as the Time struggled not to laugh, the Doctor shaking his head.

"Do you mean…'the Doctor' Doctor?" he breathed, "And '_the Hatter'_ Hatter?

"I know. We all want to meet them one day, but we all know what that day will bring".

"Ah…you do realise that we can hear everything that you are saying, right?" the Hatter coughed as the Doctor rubbed his eye awkwardly, exchanging a look with the Time Lady.

Someone, they assumed Malcolm gasped, almost laughing in delight as his voice became clearer, "Hello, Doctor, Hatter?" he suddenly exclaimed, overjoyed, "Oh, my goodness!"

The Time Lords winced and pulled back from there phone, "Yes, we are," the Doctor said back into the phone as the Hatter shook her head, amused, "Hello, Malcolm".

"It's nice to meet you," the Hatter added brightly.

"The Doctor and the Hatter! Cor blimey! I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you two. I mean, I've read all the files…"

"Really?" the Doctor asked, smiling, "What was your favourite, the giant robot?"

"As much as I would love to add an extra layer to the Doctor's already oversized ego," the Hatter cut in, giving him a pointed look, "But I do believe that we have a wormhole to sort out".

He glanced at her, coughing, "Ah, yeah, right," he nodded, taking her hand and standing, "Excuse us," and they walked to the front of the bus, away from the other's as he lowered the volume on the speaker phone so that the other's couldn't hear them, "Malcolm, something's not making sense," he began, frowning, "We've got a storm and a wormhole, and we can't help thinking there's a connection. We need a complete full analysis of that wormhole. The whole thing".

"Well, I've probably got the wrong idea, but I've wired up an integrator," Malcolm told them, "I thought I could measure the energy signature".

"No," the Doctor shook his head, "No, no, no, no, no, no. That'll never work. Listen…"

"It's quite extraordinary, though," he cut across him, "I'm measuring an oscillation of fifteen Malcolm's per second".

"Fifteen what?" both Time Lords blinked at each other.

"Fifteen Malcolm's. It's my own little term. A wavelength parcel of ten kilohertz operating in four dimensions equals one Malcolm".

The Doctor and the Hatter looked at each, the Time Lady appearing to be caught between amusement and surprise, "Did you just…you named a unit of measurement after yourself?" she asked slowly.

"Well, it didn't do Mister Watt any harm," Malcolm replied, "Furthermore, one hundred Malcolm's equals a Bernard".

"And who's that, your Dad?" the Doctor asked, seeming to be shocked that he was even having this conversation with someone.

"Don't be ridiculous. That's Quatermass".

"Right," he nodded slowly, "Fine. But before we die of old age, which, in our case, would be _quite_ an achievement, so congratulations on that…"

"Speak for yourself," the Hatter shook her head at him, a smile spreading across her face, "I happen to be finding this conversation very…ah, amusing".

"Of course you are," he shot her a fond smile before turning back to the phone, saying over it, "Is there anyone else we…I can talk to?"

"No, no, no, no, but listen!" Malcolm quickly answered, "I set the scanner to register what it can't detect and inverted the image".

Both Time Lord's eyes widened, "You did what?"

"Is that wrong" he asked, sounding slightly worried.

"Oh, no, not at all," the Hatter shook her head, smiling broadly, sounding delighted, "That's brilliant, Malcolm, _truly_ brilliant! This means that you can actually measure the wormhole. Oh, you…and I don't often get to say this, are a genius!"

"I second that," the Doctor added, also looking quite impressed.

"The Doctor and the Hatter called me a genius," Malcolm breathed in awe.

"I know," Erisa's voice came over, her tone brisk, "I heard".

"Now, run a capacity scan," the Doctor told them, "We need a full report. Call us back when you've done it…" he moved to stand but paused, "And Malcolm? You're my new best human friend".

"And mine!" the Hatter added quickly.

"And you're mine, too, sir, ma'am!" he shouted as they ended the call.

The Time Lady paused, glancing at the Doctor, "Ah…let's not tell Sarah Jane and Martha about this…"

He looked at her and winced, rubbing his cheek as if he had already been slapped, "Good idea," he stepped out into view of the rest of the bus, calling to Barclay as they headed towards the door, "Barclay, we're holding on to this!"

"Hey, you'd better bring it back!" they heard Barclay shout after them as they dashed out the door, quickly followed by Christina.

…

The Time Lords and Christina walked back through the desert once more until they reached the same dune top that they had first spotted the hazy storm from. The Doctor held up the phone towards the clouds, snapping a picture, "Send this back to Earth," he explained to Christina, "See if Malcolm can analyse the storm".

Christina frowned, narrowing her eyes against the suns glare as she looked out towards it, "There's something in those clouds," she remarked, "Something shining. Look".

"It's like…metal," the Hatter nodded thoughtfully, eyeing the tiny little specks of some sort of shining substance only just visible through all the swirling sand, "That's…very strange".

"Why would there be metal in a storm?" she asked them before her snapped over to the side, frowning again, "Did you hear something?"

"Hold on," the Doctor hushed her, his attention focused on the phone as he tried sending the picture back to Earth, "Busy".

"There was a noise, like a sort of…" she trailed off suddenly, taking a step closer to them, "Doctor, Hatter…" she said again, but this time her tone of voice changed.

They both frowned and looked at her, following her line of sight to see a figure standing a short distance away from them, humanoid shaped but with the head of an insect, similar to that of a fly, holding what appeared to be a gun.

"Oh," the Hatter blinked, slightly taken aback by the alien's sudden appearance, "Hello, there…"

_**I'm so sorry for how long this has taken, and also for not replying to anyone's reviews. I got sick, had a lot of homework to catch up on, and have been taking care of five, four week old kittens, so it's been quite busy, but a big thank you to everyone who reviewed. Tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest reviews:**_

_**Guest: **_**Yep, that Hatter will be very cross with the Doctor for what's to come on Mar's, but I also think that she will see it as a learning tool for him. It always hurts the Hatter when he regenerates, but she also has a different view on regeneration. To her, it's not death, but just adding another chapter to someone's life, so even though she will be sad to have to say goodbye to this him, she will also know that it's not really goodbye, because the Doctor, no matter what he may look or be like, will always be the same person she first meet at school. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story, and thank you for the review :)**

**Guest:**** Oh, there's lots more chapter's to come. We still have the Eleventh Doctor and Twelve to get through yet. Thanks for the review :)**


	4. Chapter 4 Planet of the Dead, Part 2

_**The Planet of Dead, Part 2.**_

The Doctor, the Hatter, and Christina raised their hands as the fly-like alien approached them, its weapon aimed at them, making funny clicking sound. The Doctor clicked and squeaked back.

"That's wait," he informed the two woman beside him, glancing at them, "I shout 'wait,' people usually wait".

The Hatter shook her head, seeming amused by his remark, "So you would like to think, sweetheart".

"You speak the language?" Christina asked, surprised.

"Every language," he replied, making more clicking noises, "That's begging for mercy".

"It was one of the only subjects he ever took seriously," the Time Lady informed the dark haired woman, "I never really understood the attraction myself…"

The alien clicked again and gestured, rather roughly, with his weapon at them, "That means 'move,'" Christina realised, eyeing the alien carefully.

"Ooh, you're learning!" the Doctor grinned.

The alien forced them onwards, its weapon pointed at their backs as it forced them to walk. The Doctor took the Hatter's hand, holding it tightly as they exchanged a quick look, really not surprised anymore to have a gun pointed at them. Nevertheless, it didn't make it any easier.

"These fly things…" Christina began after a moment, glancing back over her shoulder towards the alien, "They must be responsible. They brought us here," she suspected.

"No, no, no, no, no," the Time Lords shook their heads as they reached the top of a dune, looking out to find a very big wreckage of a ship with the appearance quite similar to that of a fly, cut completely in half, "Look at the ship," they nodded over towards the wreckage, "It's a wreck. They crashed, just like us".

…

They were ushered into the ship and it immediately became clear that not only the outside had suffered damage, but so had the inside with wires hanging from the ceiling as they made their way down a dimly lit corridor.

"Ugh, this place is freezing!" Christina exclaimed, rubbing her bare arms, and shriving, having removed her jacket earlier that day with the desert sun beating down heavily on them all. Though, it didn't have the same effect on the Time Lords as on the humans.

"That would be because the hull is made of photoafine steel," the Hatter informed her, glancing around the corridor, "Basically, it turns cold when it's hot. Quite clever, really".

The Doctor nodded in agreement, "Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside," he glanced back at Christina, raising his eyebrows, "Since we met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes".

"That's how I like things," Christina remarked, looking at him a tad too long, a slightly flirty tone entering her voice, "Extreme".

The Hatter raised her eyebrows, nudging the Doctor's side slightly, "Looks like you've got an admirer, sweetheart," she whispered to him, sounding amused rather than anything else.

"How come you find this amusing?" he asked quietly, casting her a small frown, almost looking disappointed, "If it was the other way around…"

"Time Lady," she replied, shrugging before she held her hand with her engagement ring on it towards him, wiggling her fingers, "And I do believe that this ring is on my finger, sweetheart".

The Doctor smiled as he glanced at the ring before casting his eyes around the corridor, "Oh, this is beautiful," he commented, seeming almost impressed, "Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep spacer".

"I'll remember that as I'm slowly tortured," Christina remarked sarcastically from just ahead of them, rolling her eyes as they entered a slightly larger room that appeared to have once been the cockpit, but was now just as damaged as the rest of the ship, wires hanging everywhere and sand covering the floor, "At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well designed spaceship".

As they moved further into the room a second fly like alien approached them, also holding a weapon. Both alien's made clicking noises at each other, turning to face them together as one attached a rounded, glowing purple device to the front of its suit, and started clicking at each other once more.

"Oh, right, good," the Doctor nodded, smiling after a moment at them, and the Time Lady relaxed slightly, realising what the device must have been even though she couldn't understand a word they were saying, "Yes, hello," he glanced at Christina, who was looking confused about what was happening, "That's a telepathic translator. He can understand us".

The aliens clicked again.

"Still sounds like gibberish to me," Christina told them, shaking her head.

"That's what I said," he clarified, "He can understand us".

"It doesn't work the other way around, I'm afraid," the Hatter smiled slightly at her.

They focused back on the aliens, listening as more clicking sounded, "'You will suffer for your crimes'…etcetera," the Doctor translated for them, nodding slowly, "'You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race,'" he glanced at Christina, "Tritovore. They're called Tritovores," and focused back on translating, "'You came here in the two hundred to destroy us…'" he frowned, looking confused, "Sorry, what's the two hundred?"

"It's the bus," Christina informed him, "Number two hundred. They mean the _bus_".

"Oh!" the Doctor nodded, understanding as he turned back to them, "No, look, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did," he smiled at them, patting his chest, "I'm the Doctor, by the way, this is the Hatter," he gestured to her, "And this is Christina," he nodded over to her, still smiling, "The Honourable Lady Christina…at least I hope she's honourable," he flashed them a grin.

The Hatter coughed, nudging his side, "Mind the cheek, Doctor".

"Ah, right," he coughed, quickly getting back on topic, "We got pulled through that wormhole," he explained to them, micking something being pulled, "The two hundred doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you".

The Tritovore's glanced at each other, clicking at each other for a moment before turning back to them, and lowering their weapons.

"What are they doing?" Christina asked, eyeing them carefully.

"They believe us," the Hatter told her calmly.

"What, as simple as that?"

"I've got a very honest face," the Doctor shrugged, making the Hatter laugh, quickly covering it up with a cough, "And the translator says I'm telling the truth," he added, nodding towards the device, and glanced at Christina, who raised her eyebrows at him, "Plus, the face!"

The Time Lady titled her head at him, actually appearing to be considering what he had said, "Well, I suppose that this face is a tad more honest looking then some of your other ones," she nodded thoughtfully.

He smiled at her, looking amused and a little smug as he turned back to the Tritovores, "Right, so, first things first," he hurried over to one of the control panels, the Time Lady right on his heels, "There's a very strange storm heading our way".

"Would it still be possible to send a probe?" the Hatter questioned before shaking her head, frowning as she examined the controls, "Oh, no, they've lost power, so that's out of the question".

"Hmm," the Doctor also examined the controls, exchanging a thoughtful look with the Time Lady, "The crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of synch".

"Yes, but perhaps we could just pop it back into place," the Time Lady raised her eyebrows at him, a small smile tugging on her face.

He flashed her a bright smile and grabbed one of the controls, holding it tightly, kicking the side of the control panel, and the machine flared back into life.

The Tritovores began clicking almost excitedly with each other, obviously very happy, "I thank you!" he flashed them a broad grin, looking quite proud of himself as they clicked back at him, "Yes, I am. Frequently, so is the Hatter," he shot her a smile before turning back to the controls, setting to work along with her, "Okay-doke, let's launch that probe".

They pulled leaves, hitting buttons, setting off the probe before bringing up a holographic screen display of a cloud of colours in space for them to see, "Ah, the Scorpion Nebula," the Hatter remarked, eyeing the display as she and the Doctor sat down beside Christina, who was smiling broadly at the image, "We're on the other side of the Universe to Earth, Christina".

"Just what you wanted," the Doctor glanced at her, slipping his glasses on, "So far away," they turned back to the image as it zoomed in on to a planet that looked similar to Earth, "The planet of San Helios".

Christina continued to smile in wonder, "And that's us?" she pointed at the image, "We're on another world".

The Time Lords looked at her, raising their eyebrows, "We have been for quite a while".

"I know, but seeing it like that…" she replied, shaking her head as they turned back to the image.

"It's good, isn't it?"

"Wonderful," she breathed.

The Tritovores began clicking, making them look over at them as the Doctor nodded, "The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios," he translated for them, "Population of one hundred billion," the Hatter let out a low whistle as he lowered his head slightly towards Christina, "Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb".

"By waste matter…you mean…" Christina began, grimacing.

"They feed off what others leave behind from their…behind, if you see what I mean. It's perfectly natural. They are flies".

"Charming," she glanced over at the Tritovores, "Just remind me never to kiss them".

They turned back to the screen to see the image of a big, thriving, very modern looking city, filled with buildings and green trees from a bird eyes view. The Tritovores clicked and the Doctor nodded, glancing over at them.

"San Helios City," he translated for the girls as he focused back on the screen.

"It really is quite beautiful," the Hatter smiled slightly, titling her head at the image. She might have seen a similar sight many times before and would no doubt see it again, but that didn't make it any less pretty to look at.

"That's amazing," Christina also smiled at the screen, looking impressed, "But…" she glanced over at the Time Lords, watching their reaction closely, and or though they both seemed to like what they saw, neither of them appeared to be overly impressed or amazed, "…you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?"

"Thousands of times," the Time Lords admitted, nodding.

She eyed them closer, still smiling, "That Lordship and Damehood…" she began, "The Lord and Dame of where, exactly?"

"Of time," the Doctor replied, glancing at her before turning back to the screen, "We come from a race of people called Time Lords".

"And yes, they were as arrogant and boring as they sound," the Hatter added, shaking her head slightly, "Of course, there's always a few black sheep's in the pack…" she flashed the Doctor a grin and wink.

Christina's eyes winded, staring at them, "You're aliens?"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, "But you don't have to kiss us either".

"No offense intended, Christina, but if you could hold yourself back from kissing me I would be grateful," the Time Lady commented in a joking tone, smiling across to her, taking the Doctor's hand, "I'm afraid that I'm already spoken for".

"You both look human," she eyed them closely again.

"You look Time Lord," the Doctor looked at her before shrugging, turning back to the screen.

Christina shook herself, clearing her throat, "So if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city," she reasoned, looking back at the image of the city, "They can help us".

The Time Lords frowned, exchanging a look as the Doctor's eyes drifted over to the clicking Tritovores, "I don't think it's that simple," he remarked, listening closely to what the two other aliens said, just as the image on the screen was replaced by desert, "We're in the city right now," he realised.

"But it's sand!" Christina exclaimed, shaking her head, frowning, "That first image, the temples and things, what's that, then? Ancient history?"

The Tritovoes clicked again.

The Doctor looked back at the girls, his eyes widening, "The image was taken last year," he translated.

The Hatter closed her eyes, shaking her head, "Oh, all those poor people," she breathed sadly, reopening her eyes to look at the image, showing just the desert.

Christina's mouth fell open, "It became desert…in one year?" she gasped, shocked.

The Doctor reached down and grabbed a handful of sand from the floor, "We said there was something in the sand," he allowed the sand to slip through his fingers, watching it, "The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife, and a hundred billion people turned to sand".

"Remember what Carmen said?" the Hatter sighed sadly, "All of those voices that she can hear, she can hear them dying".

"But I've got sand in my _hair_," Christina grimaced, grabbing at her hair, completely disgusted, "That's dead people. Oh, that's disgusting!" she started squirming around, "Ugh!"

"Something destroyed the whole of San Helios," the Time Lords frowned, exchanging worried looks, not paying attention to Christina as she continued grabbing at her hair.

"Yes, but in my _hair_!"

Suddenly, the mobile that they had grabbed started ringing, and the Doctor quickly fished it out of his pocket, putting it on speaker, "Malcolm, tell us the bad news," he answered.

"Oh, you are clever," Malcolm replied breathlessly, "It is _bad_ news," both Time Lords exchanged quick looks, "It's the wormhole. It's getting bigger!" the Doctor rubbed his face and the Hatter groaned quietly, "We've gone way past one hundred Bernard's. I haven't invented a name for that!"

"How can it get bigger by itself?"

"Well, that's why I'm phoning. You and the Hatter will work it out, if I know your, sir, ma'am".

The Hatter smiled tiredly, "Malcolm, you're confidence in us is much appreciated".

"Doctor, Hatter, we estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now…four miles, heading upwards," Erisa's voice cut over, "I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through".

"Ah, yes, thank you," the Time Lady nodded, not appearing to care that they couldn't see her action, to busy thinking over everything that they had learnt by now.

"Good work, both of you," the Doctor agreed, also thinking everything over.

"But I have to know," Erisa quickly continued, seeming to be worried that they were about to hang up, "Does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?"

Both Time Lords exchanged a look, knowing exactly what the answer to that question was and what the protocols for Unit were, but before either of them could reply, the phone beeped, singling an incoming call.

"Ooh, sorry," the Doctor blinked slightly, glancing at the screen, exchanging a slightly relieved look with the Time Lady, "Call waiting, got to go…" he clicked one of the buttons, switching over to the other call, "Yeah?"

"Doctor, its Nathan," the young man came over, sounding relieved that they answered, "We got those duckboard things down, but…"

"It's my fault," they could hear Angela crying on the other end, making both Time Lords even more concerned.

"No, it's not," Nathan quickly told her, "Don't say that".

"Nathan, what's happened?" the Hatter asked worriedly, "Is someone hurt?"

"We kept on turning the engine, but…we're out of petrol. Used it all up. Even if we can get those wheels out this bus…is never going to move," the Time Lady closed her eyes, fighting off the urge to pull at her hair as the Doctor stared off into the distance, "You promised you'd get us home. Doctor, Hatter?" he asked, sounding concerned when they didn't respond, "Are you still there?"

The Hatter took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm, "Nathan, we'll sort this out, okay?" she tried assuring him, even though she had no idea how they were going to manage it now, "Just…just try and stay calm. We'll find a way, we will," she took the phone from the Doctor and ended the call, already feeling guilty as she slipped the device away.

Suddenly, an alarm began going off, making them all look up as the Tritovores hurried over to the controls, clicking widely.

"It's the probe," the Doctor translated to them, "It's reached the storm".

Christina frowned at one of the Tritovores continued to click, glancing at the Doctor, "And what's he saying?"

"It's not a storm," he replied grimly, meeting the Hatter's eyes.

They turned back to the holographic image, now showing the probe flying through what they had assumed had been storm clouds, but what they could now make out to be billions of metal-like stingray creatures flying through the air in one massive swarm.

"It's a swarm!" Christina's eyes widened as she and the Time Lords stood, staring at the image, "Millions of them".

"Billions," the Hatter corrected, shaking her head, just as one of the creatures flew straight up to the probe, its mouth opened wide to show big, sharp teeth, and the picture disappeared, "Oh, I knew that would happen," she sighed, wincing slightly, "We've lost the probe".

"I think it got eaten," the Doctor groaned, sounding frustrated as he held out his arms, "Everything on this planet gets eaten".

"How far away is that swarm?" Christina asked, pointing back to the darkened screen.

"A hundred miles," he answered thoughtfully, "But at that speed, it's be here in twenty minutes," one of the Tritovores clicked, drawing there attention back to them, "No, no, no, they're not just coming for_ us_. They want the_ wormhole_," he explained to them.

"They're heading for the Earth!" Christina gasped, horrified.

The Hatter gave her a sympathetic look, patting her shoulder, "Can you show us an analysis?" she asked the Tritorvore's, and they brought up a 3D replica of one of the creatures for them to see, "Ooh, fascinating," she remarked, eyeing the replica closely.

"Incredible," the Doctor nodded, staring at the creature thoughtfully, "They swarm out of the wormhole, strip the planet bare, then move on to the next world. Start the life cycle all over again".

Christina glanced at them, "So, they make the wormholes?"

"I believe so," the Time Lady inclined her head towards her, shrugging, "And it's not as if there's anything else that really could".

"But how?" she frowned, "They don't exactly look like technicians," she glanced back at the replica, "And if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they a hundred miles away?"

"Because they need to be?" the Doctor suggested, sounding unsure himself before he shook his head, "No, that's bonkers…" he sighed.

"No, perhaps not," the Hatter cut in, looking thoughtful as she glanced back at the replica, "What if billions of these creatures flying around in one massive formation, all around the plant," she motioned with her hand something spinning, starting to grow more excited as she talked, "Faster and faster, until they finally manage to generate a rupture in space".

"Oh, of course!" the Doctor jumped, his eyes wide as he nodded, a grin spreading across his face, "The speed of them, and the numbers, and the size; all of that rips the wormhole into existence!"

"And the wormholes getting bigger…" Christina joined in.

"Because the swarm are getting closer," the Hatter nodded quickly.

"But how do they get through? Because that wormhole's a killer. We've seen it".

"No, no, no, look," the Doctor shook his head, pointing at the replica, "See the exoskeleton".

She moved closer, taking note of the shiny, plate like armour covering the creature's entire body, "Metal?"

"They're very bones are made of metal," the Hatter explained to her, talking fast due to her growing excitement, "They must eat the metal and then extrude it back into the exoskeleton".

"Exactly," the Doctor agreed, going on, "So their velocity makes the wormhole, then their body makes it safe," he and the Time Lady exchanged a look, "Perfect design".

"Those things are going to turn the entire Earth into a desert!" Christina breathed, turning to look at the Doctor to see him grinning widely as the Hatter smiled a little less brightly, "So why exactly are you smiling?"

He looked back at her, slipping off his glasses, and putting them back inside his pocket, "Worse it gets, the more I love it," he replied happily.

"Me too," she broke into a matching grin.

The Doctor looked at the Hatter, raising his eyebrows, "You seem quiet, Hatter?"

"Oh, well, I would say that I'm loving it, but I'm currently standing on the possible remains of someone right now, so aside from that, I'm having a great time," she shrugged, gesturing down to the sandy covered ground that they were all standing on.

He winced and rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah, yes, right," he gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry".

Christina cleared his throat, shifting slightly as they both focused on her, "The thing is, Doctor, Hatter, you're missing the obvious," she told them, raising her eyebrows at them, "We came thought the wormhole, yes? But our Tritovore friends didn't," she nodded over to the two other aliens, "They came here to trade with San Helios. Therefore, the question is, why did they crash?"

"Ah!" the Doctor exclaimed, both he and the Time Lady looking impressed, "Good question," he nodded to her, "What a good team," before turning to the Tritovores, "Like she said, why did you crash?"

The Tritovore's led them off down a corridor and into another, larger room that had a big hole right in the middle of the ground.

"Ooh, yes!" he grinned, spotting the hole and running over to look over the edge, the Time Lady and Christina right behind him, "Gravity well. Look, goes all the way down to the engine," he glanced across to one of the Tritovores, "So what happened?" he asked, listening as it clicked back at him, "He says the drive system stalled," he translated, "Ten miles up, they fell out of the sky".

The Hatter frowned, "And what caused that, exactly?" she questioned.

They simply shrugged in reply.

"Which means 'no idea,'" Christina sighed, looking back to the Doctor.

"Yeah," the Doctor confirmed.

"Hang on," the Hatter looked back down the hole, looking thoughtful, narrowing her eyes slightly to try and see better, "Is that a crystal nucleus down there?" she knelt down on the edge, "And, or though it's a little hard to tell, it appears to have survived the crash".

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor grinned, moving away from the hole, his eyes widening as he meet the Hatter's own bright eyes, "That's better than diesel!"

Christina frowned at them, "What, you can use the crystal to move the bus?" she asked.

"It's certainly a big possibility," the Time Lady nodded to her, growing excited again.

The Doctor cast a look around the room, "The spaceship's a write-off, but the two hundred's small enough".

"How does a crystal drive a bus?"

"In a super clever outer-spacey way," he replied, shrugging as he and the Hatter hurried over to a control panel and began fiddling with it, "Just trust me".

"Basically, that's his way of saying that he has no idea," the Hatter informed her, rolling her eyes slightly, but she shot him a fond look.

"There's the crystal!" he cheered as they brought up a grainy, black and white picture on a tiny screen showing the bottom of the well, "It's fallen to the bottom of the well," he looked up at the Tritovores, "Have you got access shafts?" he listened for a moment to the clicking reply, "All frozen?" he turned back to the controls, exchanging a look with the Time Lady, "Well, maybe we can open them. Ah!" he cried joyfully, catching sight of a set of comms, grabbing them, "Internal comms," he passed one to Christina and a second to the Hatter, slipping the third into his ear, "Put that on. You stay here," he pointed at Christina as he and the Hatter began running out of the room.

"Try and keep an eye on the shaft," the Time Lady called to her over her shoulder, "Tell us if anything starts to happen, okay?"

The Time Lords and Tritovores raced out of the room, back up through the corridor, and into the control room once more.

"If we can use that sunlight to start the automatic maintenance," the Doctor called over the comm. as they ran over to the controls, setting to work, "Christina? If you see a panel opening in that shaft, let us know".

"Nothing yet," Christina replied.

The Hatter grabbed a plug and locked it into a second plug, causing it to spark slightly, "What about now?" she asked.

"Afraid not".

The Doctor grabbed another cable, "Any sign of moment?"

"Nope".

The Hatter frowned, kneeling down and grabbing two wires, trying to connect them together, "What about now?"

"Nothing".

"Are you sure that you're actually looking?" the Time Lady questioned, her eyes narrowing slightly, noticing something on her tone being a little…off.

The Doctor tried plugging a cable into one of the slots on the controls, "Any result?" he called.

"Not a dickie bird," Christina responded, "So let me get this right. You need that crystal? Then consider it done".

"Why, what do you mean?" the Doctor asked, frowning slightly as he blew into one of the plug sockets, "Christina?" he tried, but she didn't answer as the Hatter straightened as they both realised what she meant, "Christina!"

They raced out of the room, down the corridor, and into the gravity well room, only to find Christina standing on the very edge of the hole, hooked up to what appeared to be harness.

"The aristocracy survives for a reason," she remarked, glancing towards them, smiling, "We're ready for anything".

She held out her arms wide and allowed herself to fall forward into the hole as the Time Lords ran to the edge, just missing her.

"No!" the Doctor shouted, quickly grabbing his sonic and pointing it at the winch that Christina had set up, "Come on, come on, come on, come on," he muttered before finally, abruptly stopping the winch, bringing Christina to a stop, "That's better!"

"I decide when I stop, thank you!" Christina called back up to them, sounding smug despite the fact that she was simply hanging there.

"And while you where busy deciding that, you were about to hit the security grid," the Hatter replied, a touch of scolding in her tone, "Look down".

"Excellent," she remarked, seeming to be taken aback, and a little worried, "So what do I do?"

"Try the big, red button," the Doctor told her.

She looked across from her to the wall to find a big, red button sitting there. She reached out and pressed it, and the security grid disappeared, "Well done," she smiled.

"Now come back up," he tried, "I can do that".

"And I can't?" the Hatter shot him a look, nudging his side a little harder than usual, making him wince.

"Oh, don't you wish," Christina scoffed at him.

The Doctor sighed, realising that there was no point in trying to argue with her. He had spent too much time trying to argue with a stubborn woman throughout most of his life already to know better, "Slowly!" he called to her, resigned.

"Yes, sir!" she mocked, carefully twisting herself so that she was going down the shaft head first.

"Quite the mystery, aren't you?" he remarked over the comm., "Lady Christina de Souza, carrying a winch in her bag," he cast a teasing look at the Hatter, "I don't think even the Hatter has a winch in her pockets".

The Time Lady winked at him, "Well, it was either the winch or my jelly babies," she shrugged, giving him a smile, "The choice was simple, really, but I suppose that this does give me a few ideas…"

The Doctor groaned, rubbing a hand over his face, "Oh, great".

"No stranger then you, spaceman," Christina commented.

"We had this friend, once," the Doctor looked off into the distance, thinking about Donna as the Hatter took his hand, giving him a small, comforting smile, "She called me spaceman".

"And was she right? Do you zoom about the place in a rocket?"

"A little blue box, actually," the Hatter corrected, smiling affectionately, just thinking about that old girl, "And not just space, but time, too".

"Oh, the places we've been," the Doctor began, the memories flashing through his mind, "World War One, creation of the Universe, End of the Universe, the war between China and Japan," the Hatter nudged his side, drawing his attention, and nodding to Christina's backpack were she had opened it to reveal a golden chalice sitting there, "And the Court of King Athelstan in 924 AD," he finished, reaching inside the bag and lifted the chalice up, "But I don't remember you being there. Hatter?"

"Nope," the Hatter shook her head.

"So what are you doing with this?" he wondered aloud as if he didn't already know.

"Excuse me," Christina replied, not seeming upset that they had caught her, "A gentlemen never goes through a lady's possessions".

"Good thing I'm not a gentlemen, then," the Hatter cheekily remarked.

One of the Tritovore clicked, drawing the Doctor's attention, who nodded, "It's the Cup of Athelstan," he explained to him, "Given to the first King of Britain as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh. But it's been held in the International Gallery for two hundred years, which makes you, Lady Christina, a thief," he twisted the cup in his hands.

"I like to think I liberated it".

"Don't tell me this is all about money?" the Hatter raised her eyebrows, almost sounding amused.

"Daddy lost everything," she informed them, "Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks".

"No, no, no, no, no," the Doctor shook his head, laughing slightly as he looked back down at the cup in his hands, "If you're short of cash, you rob a bank. Stealing this?" he raised his eyebrows, "That's a lifestyle".

"I take it you disapprove?"

"Absolutely. Except…" he paused, sniffing slightly as the Hatter gave him a pointed look, "That little blue box…I stole it from our own people".

"Good boy," Christina smiled, seeming to approve, when there was a suddenly loud screeching sound that echoed up through the ship before the Hatter could even mention her own theft of her TARDIS from her own family, "What the blazes was that?" she called, sounding alarmed.

The Hatter and the Doctor exchanged concerned looks, "We never found out why this ship crashed, did we?" the Time Lady reminded them, looking over the edge of the hole, "I think that it's time to come back up, Christina, and quickly".

"Too late," she replied, "I can see it".

"Careful," the Doctor warned her as he slipped the cup back inside the backpack, "Slowly," he looked over to the Tritovore, "Have you got an open-vent system?" he listened as the other alien clicked back, sighing, "Thought so".

"What does that mean?"

"Think of it as when birds fly into the engines of an aircraft," the Hatter told her.

Christina suddenly gasped, "One of the creatures!"

Both Time Lords exchanged looks, "It got trapped in the vents, cause the crash," he reasoned grimly, "Christina, get out!"

"It's not moving. I think it's injured".

"No, it's probably been in hibernation because of how cold it is in this ship," the Hatter shook her head, growing more and more worried the longer that Christina was down there, "But now you are down there, so your body heat will be rising the temperature".

"I tend to have that effect," Christina remarked, "Almost there," her voice sounding strained.

"Not just the crystal," the Doctor urgently informed her, "We need the whole bed, the plate thing".

A moment past before…, "I've got it!" she shouted.

The Doctor quickly pointed the sonic up at the hoist, trying to pull Christina up, "Come on, come on, come on!" he muttered as the Hatter hurried over to the control panel, and started fiddling with the controls, "Come on, come on, come on, come on!" he glanced over the side of the hole, "It's going to eat its way up!".

The Hatter glanced at the small screen on the control panel and was suddenly struck with an idea, "Hit the red button!" she shouted over the comm. to Christina, who managed to hit the button as she flew past, catching the stingray like creature, and zapping it, "Well done!" she grinned.

"Ooh, clever!" the Doctor laughed, looking as if he wanted to hug the Time Lady, but before he could, Christina arrived at the top of the shaft holding the clamp and crystal, "That's it, that's it, that's it," he carefully took her by the arms and helped her to stand on solid ground, still attached to the harness, "I've got you, I've got you," the Tritovore clicked excitedly, making him laugh, "Isn't she just?"

He took the clamp and crystal as the Hatter hurried over to them, helping Christina out of the harness, "Brilliantly down, Christina," the Time Lady smiled broadly at her.

Once Christina was out of the harness, they raced out of the room, down the corridor, and back into the control room to find the second Tritovore working at the controls.

"Commander?" the Doctor called as they entered the room, "Mission complete. Now, we've got to get back to the two hundred, all of us," he listened as the Tritovore's clicked something back at him, seeming to be arguing, "Oh, don't be daft," he shook his head at them, "A captain can leave his ship…if there's a bus standing by".

The Hatter coughed, "Yes, it's a new rule that they came up with recently," she nodded quickly, biting her bottom lip.

There was a low rumble that echoed throughout the ship, causing them to all look nervously up and around.

"What the hell was that?" Christina demanded fearfully, looking to the Time Lords, "Is this place safe?" her eyes widened, "It's the creature. It's not dead!"

Another roar filled the air.

The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged looks, glancing at the Tritorovres, who were clicking frantically, "Maybe you didn't just hit one of them," he said slowly, glancing around the room, "If you hit a swarm…"

"Do you mean if there's more on board?" Christina gasped.

"Well, this ship…it's built almost like a metal sleeve," the Hatter cast her eyes around at the walls and ceiling, "They could move easily enough through this entire ship, all around us in the walls".

Something banged above their heads, causing sand to fall as the Time Lords and Christina ducked out of the way, "And those things wake up hungry," the Doctor winced, looking urgently to the Tritorovres, "Commander, you've got to come with us right now!"

"Please, if you stay here you'll die," the Hatter tried desperately.

"Come back to Earth," Christina held out her hands towards them, "We'll find you a home!"

"And that's the words of a Lady and Dame," the Doctor nodded, backing away towards the door, taking the Time Lady's hand, "Come on!"

One of the Tritovores hurried after them as they started to run towards the door, before pausing, turning back to see that his shipmate was across the room, doing something at the control panel, when one of the creatures suddenly dropped through the ceiling, knocking the Tritovore to the ground, and swopped down on him, eating him in one mouthful. The last Tritovore raised its weapon, marching towards the creature.

"No, don't!" the Time Lords shouted, but it was too late, and they could only watch as the creature swopped down on the second Tritovore, eating him whole, too, "There's nothing we can do!" they quickly started ushering Christina down the corridor, "Run!"

They ran back through the ship as fast as they could, thankfully not meeting another creature as they reached the entrance of the ship, and raced outside, running as fast as they could back through the desert towards the bus, just ahead of the rest of the swarm.

As they were making their way over a dune, stumbling slightly as their legs sunk into the sand, the mobile phone started ringing. The Hatter quickly reached inside her pocket and retrieved it, almost dropping it as answered, "Er…Doctor, Hatter…" Melcolm began.

"Sorry, a little busy right now!" the Time Lady called a little louder then she intended, but they were being chased by a swarm of metal eating creatures, after all, and ended the call, slipping the phone back inside her pocket.

They continued running until they finally reached the bus, Christina panting for breath, but nonetheless smiling widely, appearing to be having the time of her life.

Nathan and Barclay stepped out to meet them, frowning.

"At last!" Nathan shouted over to them, "Where've you been?"

"Get inside!" the Doctor told them, "Get them sitting down!" both young men hurried back inside the bus as the Time Lords and Christina paused in the doorway of the bus, "Now, then, let's have a look," he carefully juggled the clamp and crystal, holding the crystal up.

"So what does the crystal do?" Christina asked him, eyeing the yellow gem.

"Oh, nothing," he replied, shaking his head as he tossed the crystal back over his shoulder, "Don't need the crystal".

"I risked my life for that!" she exclaimed, outraged as she pointed over towards were the crystal had landed in the sand.

"Not quite," the Hatter smiled at her, seeming to be amused by her outrage, "You risked your life for the clamps".

She grabbed two of the clamps from the Doctor and they hurried around the side of the bus, setting to work attaching them to each wheel on either side of the bus, before running inside the bus once they were finished.

"But what are the clamps for?" Christina questioned, frowning at them, "Do they turn the wheels".

"Yeah, something like that," the Doctor jumped in the driver's seat and began, with the Hatter's help, attaching the last clamp onto the driver's wheel, "We just need to fix this," he glanced over his shoulder to Christina, who stood back, watching them work, "Have you got a hammer in that bag?"

"Funnily enough…" she put her backpack down, reaching inside for a moment, before pulling out a hammer, and passing it to him.

The Hatter started pattering down her pockets, "Ooh, I had better call Malcolm back," she remarked, pulling the phone out, and hitting the redial button, making sure to put the phone on speaker, "Hello, Malcolm, it's us," she called once he picked up.

"I'm ready!" he shouted back.

The Time Lords blinked at each other, "Ready for what?"

"I don't know," he replied, "You tell me!"

The Doctor shook his head as the Hatter coughed, seeming to struggling not to laugh at the man's enthusiasm, "We're going to try to get back," he started telling him, "But listen, there might be something following us. You need to close the wormhole".

"Would that be a compressed burst of feedback on a counter-oscillation, perchance?"

Both Time Lord broke into matching broad grins, "Oh, Malcolm, you're brilliant!"

"Coming from you two, sir, ma'am, that means the world," Malcolm responded, sounding close to tears of joy.

"Doctor, Hatter, what sort of something?" Erisa cut in, sounding concerned, "That wormhole is now measuring ten miles and growing. I need to know the exact nature of the threat".

"Oh…ah…nice chat, really should do it again soon," the Hatter cleared his throat, talking quickly so that the other woman wouldn't have time to interrupt, "Okay, bye!" and quickly ended the call, casting the Doctor a look, "Next time, it's your turn to hang up, sweetheart".

"Let's hope there isn't a next time today," the Doctor smiled at her, turning back to the clamp on the wheel, and began checking it over before giving the wheel a shake, causing it to spark, "Oh, it's not compatible," he sighed heavily as the Time Lady groaned, having known that it was a possibility, but that didn't make it any less disappointing, "Bus, spaceship, spaceship, bus," he muttered, trying to think, "We need to weld the two systems together".

Christina frowned, "And how do you do that?" she asked.

"We need something non-corrosive, something malleable, something ductile, something…"

The Hatter gasped and turned to the dark haired woman, her eyes bright with realisation, "Gold," she said to her, "We need something gold, Christina".

She took a small step away from them, looking in-between them as she smiled slowly, "Oh, no you don't," she shook her head.

"Christina, what is it worth now?" the Doctor and the Hatter questioned her, raising their eyebrows.

"Hey, hey," Barclay approached them, holding out a big, gold watched towards them, "Use this".

The Doctor glanced at it, "Is it gold?"

"It _is_ gold," he nodded.

The Hatter smiled at him, patting his arm consolingly, "And it's lovely that you think that".

"Christina," the Doctor turned to her woman, giving her a look.

Barclay, seeming disappointed, frowned at his watched and walked back to his seat as Christina, glanced at her backpack, and back over her shoulder to the other passages. With a pained look, she seemed to debate with herself for a moment before sighing, reaching inside the bag, pulling out the cup, and holding it out towards them.

"It's over a thousand years old, worth eighteen million years," she reminded them as the Doctor reached for it, but she kept a tight hold on the cup, "Promise me you'll be careful".

He took the cup gently as the Hatter inwardly winced, "I promise," he promised her, carefully turning the cup upside down, placing it on the dashboard, and quickly banging the hammer all over the cup, causing nasty dents.

"I hate you," Christina shook her head at him, her voice sounding slightly weak.

The Hatter pattered her arm, grimacing as she took in the dents, "I'm sure you'll be able to find something else to…how did you put it? Oh, right, 'liberate,'" she commented to her.

The Doctor grinned broadly, seeming to almost be proud of himself as he finished his work with the hammer, and connected the now partly destroyed cup to the clamp, "Okay!" he clapped his hands together, looking quite pleased, "This is your driver speaker," he looked up at the reversion mirror, looking back to the passengers, "Hold on tight!"

"But…but what for?" Barclay asked from his seat, "What's he doing?"

"Do as they say," Christina told them all, looking back at them before turning to the Time Lords, "What are you doing?" she asked, lowering her voice slightly.

The Doctor started the engine, reviving it, "Come on, that's it!" he grinned at again, the Hatter almost laughing in relief as the bus slowly started humming, "You can do it, you beauty," he pattered the ceiling above his head, "One last trip!"

The bus began shaking, smoke drifting up from the wheels outside as all the passages cried out in shock and fright, and only the Time Lords and Christina, grinned as the bus rose into the air.

"Ah, you are so kidding me!" Barclay exclaimed, glancing outside the glassless window.

"We're flying!" Nathan gasped, "It's flying!"

"He's flying the bus!" Lou cheered, sounding amazed.

"It's a miracle!" Angela breathed.

"Anti-gravity clamps," the Hatter informed Christina, laughing.

"Didn't we say?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows, grinning away as he and Time Lady high fived, before he refocused his attention back on the wheel, "Round we go!" he called, spinning the wheel, turning the entire bus around in a sharp motion, almost sending the passages flying out of their seats as the Time Lady and Christina held on tightly to the wall behind the driver's seat.

"Couldn't have done that a bit smoother, Doctor?" she asked loudly, quickly using her left hand to grab her hand before it went toppling off.

"Back seat driving," he muttered, shaking his head, but he sounded amused.

"Well, if I had known you were as bad at driving an Earth bus as you were at driving the TARDIS, then perhaps I would have jumped in the driver's seat," she replied cheekily.

"Oi! I'm not that bad!"

"I suppose. It is a plus side that you haven't crashed…yet".

"Doctor, Hatter!" Carmen called suddenly, sounding alarmed, "They're coming!"

The Doctor slid the driver's side window open, looking into the mirror to see that the swarm had caught up with them, and was right behind them.

Christina gasped, "Do you think this thing will survive the journey back?"

"Only one way to find out!" the Doctor remarked, turning back to the front, breaking into a smile as he meet the Hatter's eyes, "Next stop…"

"Planet Earth!"

The passages all started screaming again as they entered the wormhole, the shaking increasing as the hot glow of the desert disappeared, cloaking them in darkness, when suddenly…a blinding flash of white light blasted all around them, and they found themselves out the other side of the wormhole, back in London. The Hatter laughed and looked down to see numerous Unit soldier's all staring up at them, giving them a cheery wave as they continued flying up into the night sky.

"Enjoying yourself, Hatter?" the Doctor asked, shotting her a grin in the mirror, "I told you I wasn't that bad," he added smugly.

The Time Lady shook her head fondly at him, "Everyone has their moments, sweetheart," she replied jokingly.

"It's London!" Barclay shouted, looking out over the city from his window.

"We're back home!" Angela gasped, almost sounding tearful with joy.

"They did it!" Nathan cried, grinning broadly, "They did it!"

The Hatter's smile dimmed slightly, "It's not over yet, though," she sighed, meeting the Doctor's eyes in the mirror.

As if on cue, the soldiers below began firing on a couple of the creature who had managed to slip through the still open wormhole, causing the passenger's to cry out and try to duck for cover.

"Phone," the Doctor quickly held out his hand to the Time Lady, who fished it out of her pocket, handing it to him. He hit redial, "Malcolm! Close that wormhole!"

"Yes, sir!" Malcolm called back, sounding quite excited, "My pleasure, sir," and ended the call.

The Doctor's eyes widened, staring down at the phone, before glancing at the amused Time Lady and Christina, "He hung up on me!" he exclaimed before redialling, "Malcolm?"

"Not now, I'm busy!" he shouted and ended the call.

"He's hung up again!" the Doctor stared at the phone in disbelief.

"Oh, let me," the Hatter rolled her eyes at him, only just stopping herself from laughing as she grabbed the phone, redialling, "Malcolm, don't you dare hang up on me, because you need to listen!" she told him sternly.

"It's not working!" he groaned.

"We need to send that signal," the Doctor quickly informed him, "We've got billions of those things about to fly through!"

"Well, what do I do?"

"You need to loop it back through the integrator," the Hatter instructed him, "And make sure to keep it ramping up".

"But…by how much?"

The Time Lords exchanged a look, "Five hundred Bernard's!" they both called, "Do it now!"

A moment past, "Yes!" he suddenly shouted joyfully as the wormhole rippled before collapsing in on itself, finally dying, trapping the rest of the creatures on the other side of the Universe.

The solider continued to fire at the last two creatures as Nathan cried, looking over his shoulder, "Doctor, Hatter, it's coming for us!"

The Time Lords looked back to see that the last creature was heading towards them, "Oh, no you don't!" he muttered, turning the bus sharply, causing the passages to scream again as they were almost sent flying before he righted them, smacking the back of the bus straight into the creature, sending it flying back towards the solders, finally managing to get a hit, killing it.

A moment past and the sound of gun fire below ended.

"Did I say I hated you?" Christina breathed, staring at the Doctor, a smile across her face, "I was lying".

She moved in to kiss him, eyes closed, only to stop short when she felt the Doctor turn his head away, her lips coming to land on his cheek. She frowned, confused, and opened her eyes to find him giving her an odd look.

The Hatter coughed, clearing her throat, "Ah…didn't we mention?" she held up her hand with her ring, wiggling her fingers, "We're kind of engaged…"

"Oh," Christina blinked and took a step back, "I'm sorry," she shifted a little awkwardly, "I suppose that I should have known, what with calling him 'sweetheart,' and everything else…"

The Hatter gave her a smile caught between understanding and sympathy, "Oh, I wouldn't worry yourself to much," she told her lightly, shrugging, "You wouldn't be the first woman to have been taken in by his…"

"Good looks," the Doctor cut in, looking smug as he ruffled his hair, "Charm, intelligence…"

"…massive ego," the Time Lady finished, not even looking at him, but she could already tell that he was pouting, "_Anyway_," she continued pointedly to Christina, "It was a harmless mistake. Oh, and that nickname came about centuries ago, back when we were children he used to be so sweet to me, and so I called him sweetheart, and the names stuck," she explained before sighing playfully, shaking her head, "I wonder what happened to him".

"Hey, I'm sweet!" he argued, a cheeky grin that made the Time Lady suddenly feel nervous spreading across his face, "I'll prove it!" and he jumped up from the seat, grabbed the Hatter, and kissed her. All the passages started applauding as they slowly pulled apart, both looking slightly dazed as the Doctor coughed and tried clearing his throat for a moment, "Ah…see?" he managed to get out, his voice sounding slightly higher than normal.

"Oh…ah…" the Time Lady, in a similar state, her voice higher than normal, making her Scottish accent even more prominent, "Uh…well, I do believe that we have people to return home, Doctor," she quickly seemed to regain composure and took a step back from him, giving him a stern look when he didn't move, "_Now_".

"Right," he nodded and returned to his seat, giving himself a sharp shack as he looked up at the reversion mirror, "Do not stand forward of this point," he called to the rest of the bus, "Ladies and gentlemen, you have reached your final destination. Welcome home, the mighty two hundred".

He lowered the bus down to the ground with a sharp bump as they landed and opened the doors with his sonic as all the soldiers stared at them, slowly braking into an applause. The passages laughed, delighted to be back home as they stood, collecting their belongings, and stepping outside.

"Welcome back," one of the soldiers moved forward and began waving the passages out and off to the side, "If you could step away from the bus, just to be safe," he instructed them all, "As fast as you can, thank you. It's standard procedure. We need to screen you and then you'll all be taken to debriefing".

The Doctor flashed his psychic paper at the solider, taking the Hatter's hand as they stepped out, "We don't count," he told the man as they walked passed him.

"No, but Doctor, Hatter?" Christina called, trying to follow after them, only to be stopped by the solider.

"With me, thank you," he grabbed her arm and began leading her away.

The Time Lords made their way a short distance away and over to were a woman stood, wearing a very official uniform stood, seeming please to meet them, and just over her shoulder, a shot man in a lab coat, glasses, and a scarf coming running over to them, looking delighted.

"Doctor, Hatter!" the man shouted joyfully.

"You must be Malcolm," both Time Lords grinned broadly at him as they reached them.

"Oh!" he exclaimed and swept the Doctor into a tight hug, much to his surprise and the Time Lady's amusement, "Oh, I love you!" he told him, causing the Hatter laugh before he let him go, throwing his arms around the blonde, causing her to blink, almost stumbling backwards in surprise, "Oh, and I love you!" he drew back, looking up into both their faces, seeing as he was shorter then them both, smiling broadly, "I love you".

The Hatter smiled and pulled him into another hug, seeing how happy he seemed to be over the first one, "It's a real honour to finally put a face to the voice, Malcolm," she sincerely informed him, pulling back, "Truly".

Erisa cleared her throat, "To your station, Doctor Tyler," she told the man sternly.

Malcolm turned to her, appearing to be about to argue with her before he nodded, "Yes, ma'am," he walked away before pausing, turning back to them, and pointing at both Time Lords, "I love you!"

They grinned back at him and pointed in return, causing him to break into another wide smile, before hurrying away.

"Doctor, Hatter," Erisa smiled slightly at them, giving them a salute, making them both sigh, and look away, "I salute you both whether you like it or not," she told them, lowering her arm back to her side, turning serious, "Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"

The Hatter sighed slightly, "I wish that we could say that," she shook her head, glancing back over towards were the wormhole had been, "But those creatures will start again, try to generate another doorway".

"It's not their fault," the Doctor added, shrugging slightly, "It's their natural life cycle, but we'll see if we can…nudge the wormholes on to uninhabited planets," they stepped closer to the woman, "Closer to home, Captain," he pointed over to were the passages had been put into a line, looking at Nathan and Barclay, "Those two lads. Very good in a crisis".

"Nathan needs a job," the Time Lady nodded, glancing over to them, smiling slightly, "And Barclay is quite good with engines".

"You could do a lot worse," he continued, wincing slightly at the look the blonde sent him, quickly going on, "Privates Nathan and Barclay, Unit's finest".

Erisa looked over to the two men, seeming to consider them for a moment, "I'll see what I can do," she nodded after a moment and glanced over to something behind them, smiling slowly, "And I've got something for you," she pointed.

They turned to look and found a solider pulling the tarp off something in front of a lorry, revealing it to be the TARDIS. They both started laughing, delighted to see the old girl as they walked towards it.

"Better than a bus, any day!" the Doctor cheered as they quickly reached the time machine, the Time Lady giving the doors an affectionate pat, "Hello!"

"Found in the gardens of Buckingham Palace," Erisa informed them.

He glanced back at her, shaking his head, "Oh, she doesn't mind".

She smiled again, seeming amused as she stepped closer to them, "Now, I've got three dead stingrays to clear up," she raised her eyebrows, "I don't suppose you fancy helping with the paperwork?"

"Not a chance".

"Sorry, Captain," the Hatter shot her a smile, "My Unit paper work days are long since over. Besides, this one always tried to distract me," she nudged the Doctor's side, who grinned.

Eria laughed and held out her hand, "Till we meet again, Doctor, Hatter".

"I hope so," the Doctor replied, smiling as he shook her hand, and let it go.

"It was lovely to meet you," the Time Lady shook her hand, "And do tell Malcolm that we hope to see him again, too".

Erisa nodded to them and turned, walking away as the Time Lords focused their attention back on the TARDIS, just as Christina suddenly ran up to them, pulling their attention to her.

"Little blue box, just like you said," she smiled widely at them, looking excited, "Right then. Off we go," she gave the Doctor an almost flirty look, causing the Time Lady to raise her eyebrows at her, wondering if she actually remembered what they had told her earlier. Not that she was jealous, she just would rather not have to deal with another Rose situation, "Come on, Doctor, Hatter, show me the stars!'

"No," the Doctor shook his head, causing the Hatter to blink slightly in surprise, having expected that he would agree, but she supposed that thinking about it, she could understand.

Christina's face fell, clearly not expecting that answer, "What?"

"I said no".

"But I saved your lives. And you saved mine".

"So?" he shrugged.

"We're surrounded by police," she tried to argue, casting a look around, "I'll go to prison!"

"Yeah".

"Doctor…" the Hatter began to say, glancing at him, but she was cut off by Christina.

"But you were right! It's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure, and today, with you two…I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this!" she waited, looking in-between both Time Lords, but they simply looked back at her, not saying a word. Slowly, she sighed, "Why not?"

The Time Lady sighed sadly, taking the Doctor's hand, "Because…we've had people who have travelled with us before," she explained to her, knowing how painful the subject was for the Doctor, "And we have lost them, for different reasons…"

"Never again," the Doctor finished firmly.

"Lady Christina de Souza," a man in a trench coat suddenly approached them, two uniformed police officer following close behind him, "Oh, I have waited a long time to say this," he smiled, seeming to take great pleasure in what he was doing as one of the uniformed policemen began handcuffing her hands behind her back, "I am arresting you on suspicion of theft. You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison, take her away," he ordered one of the officers.

The Time Lords exchanged a look as they watched Christina be led away by the police, both feeling slightly guilty.

"Doctor, Hatter?" Carmen called over to them, drawing their attention to her and Lou, both standing a short distance away from them, "You take care now".

"You too," the Doctor grinned at them, slipping one hand into his pocket, his other still holding the Time Lady's hand as they stepped closer to the couple, "Chops and gravy, lovely!"

"I hope you both have a good night," the Hatter added, smiling brightly at them.

"No, but you be careful, Doctor," Carmen shook her head, her eyes fixed on the Doctor as there smiles died, "Because your song is ending, sir".

Both Time Lords frowned, exchanging looks, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"It is returning," she replied, looking off into the distance, "It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor…oh, but then…he will knock four times".

With one last look, Carmen and Lou walked away as the Time Lords stared, shocked, at the place that they had standing in, trying to understand exactly what it was that was going on.

"Doctor…did she just…?" the Hatter broke off, swallowing hard as she glanced at him, looking very worried.

"Let's just…talk about it later," the Doctor said quietly, but he clutched her hand a little tighter.

They both exchanged a quick, understanding look, and edged around the side of the TARDIS, taking a peek around the side of the time machine to see Christina being led over to a police car. The Doctor sent the Hatter a wink, reaching inside his pocket, pulling out his sonic, and pointing it at Christina's cuffs, unlocking them.

"Ooh, nice move," the Time Lady remarked, shooting the Doctor a approving smile before refocusing her attention back on what was happening.

Cristina glanced over to them, her eyes widening slightly as she realised what had happened before a smile spread across her face, and she slipped inside the car. As soon as the door was closed, she quickly crossed the back seat of the car, and out the other side, setting off in a run back towards the bus.

"Oi!" one of the police, Dennison called, leaping out of the driver's seat as he spotted the escaping prisoner.

"No, no!" the detective shouted, realising what was happening as he started racing after him, "Stop that woman!" but no one seemed to listen, far too busy actually watching Christina escape then to help capture her as she raced past the Time Lords, and they slowly began following her, "Stop her! Don't just stand there, stop her!" Christina reached the bus, raced inside, and into the driver's seat, closing the doors as the detective could only stand outside them, shouting at her, "Open the doors. I'll add resisting arrest!"

"Ah, it might be an idea to step back, gentlemen," the Hatter warned, standing a couple of feet away with the Doctor, both trying very hard not to laugh, "This bus is quite…special".

The man turned on them, angrily pointing a finger at them, "I'm charging you both, too," he informed them, obviously very frustrated, "Aiding and abetting!"

"Yes…" the Doctor nodded, "We'll just…" he pointed back over towards the TARDIS, "…step inside this police box and arrest ourselves".

The Hatter laughed, "It wouldn't be the first time that we've been arrest, now, would it?" she grinned at him, making him laugh also as they began walking back over to the TARDIS, ignoring the confused look on the detectives face.

"Out, now!" the detective ordered Christina, who simply gave him a mocking wave, starting the bus, leaving him to simply stand there, watching helplessly as smoke washed over him from the wheels, and it slowly began to rise, "No! Come back!" he shouted.

The rest of the passengers cheered and laughed, clapping their hands in delight as Angela called, "Go on!"

The Time Lords looked up as they reached the TARDIS to see Christina drive the bus over towards them, opening the doors as she looked down at them, "We could've been so good together!" she loudly told them, smiling broadly.

"Christina, we were!" the Time Lords laughed, watching as she closed the doors of the bus, and flew off into the night, leaving all the passages behind, clapping and cheering even louder than before.

The Time Lords grinned at each and pulled the TARDIS door open, slipping inside, feeling quite proud of themselves, too.

_**Ooh, 'The Waters of Mars' is next, can't say that it's my favourite episode, but it does help a little that we have Sarah Jane's wedding after that, so that's going to be brilliant to have her. Tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest reviews:**_

_**The Artist: Aww, I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story so far, and I can't wait for that either, or though it is a rather bittersweet thing, since saying goodbye Ten is going to be quite a hard thing to do. Best wishes right back at you, and thank you for the review :)**_


	5. Chapter 5 The Waters of Mars, Part 1

_**The Waters of Mars, Part 1**_

"Doctor, can you please tell me what you're up to?" the Hatter asked for what felt like the thousands time that day, her arms crossed across her chest as she eyed the man fiddling with the TARDIS controls, having refused to allow her to join him at flying the old girl to where ever they were going.

It only made her all the more nervous that he was wearing a bright orange space suit that he had stolen from their trip to the planet Krop Tor, and had given her a similar suit, telling her that she was going to need it for what he had planned. Surprises and the Doctor never turned out well, but apparently he seemed to think differently.

"And destroy the surprise?" he flashed her a bright grin across the console.

The Time Lady sighed heavily, "Need I remind you what happened the last time you tried to take us on a surprise trip?" she raised her eyebrows at him.

The Doctor coughed and rubbed the back of his head, avoiding her eyes, "That was hardly my fault…"

"Okay, so perhaps it wasn't your fault that this regeneration appears not to be the strongest swimmer, but that didn't make almost drowning on that beach planet last week fun," she inclined her head at him, shaking her head. She still wasn't quite sure how she ended up almost drowning, when Time Lords were quite buoyant in water, "Look, sweetheart, I truly do appreciate that you want to surprise me, but I would rather be somewhat prepared. Please, just tell me, I'll even act surprised when we step out if it makes you feel better?" she offered, trying to give him a soothing smile.

He regarded her for a moment before nodding, seeing that she did have a point. After all, he seemed to have bad luck with trying to surprise her, they always backfired somehow, "Alright, spoil-sport," he conceded and grabbed the console monitor, swinging it around so that she could see what was waiting outside for them, watching her reaction, "Happy?"

She stepped closer and titled her head curiously at the screen, "Mars?" she glanced at him, seeming surprised, "Well, you managed to surprise me, Doctor," he smiled almost smugly, at least pleased that, or though his plan hadn't turned out quite how he had intended, he had still surprised her, "But…" a small frowned crossed her face, glancing at him, "…I do hope that you considered that we might end up running into the Ice Warriors…"

He scratched the back of his head again and gave her a very unconvincing offended look, "_Of course_ I thought about them," the Time Lady raised an eyebrow at him and he quickly turned away, heading towards the door, "Anyway, let's just…go".

The Hatter rolled her eyes and followed him, the helmet of her suit tucked under her arm. Her lovely hat was going to have to sit this adventure out, much to her unhappiness, "You really need to work on your lying when it comes to me, sweetheart," she commented, shaking her head, sounding amused, "Honestly, that was possibly the worst acting I've ever witnessed, which is saying something".

"Oh, hush, you," the Doctor muttered and turned around, flicking the tip of her nose, quickly locking his helmet into place before she could do anything in return.

She laughed and stuck her tongue childishly back at him, before locking her own helmet into place, quickly checking to insure that the Doctor's suit was all in order before he checked hers. Once the final checks were done and everything seemed right, they opened the doors and stepped out, looking out over the red, rocky surface of Mars.

"The Red Planet," he grinned, appearing to be quite excited as he glanced at the Hatter, who grinned back at him, growing just as excited at him, despite her earlier concerns.

They moved a few steps forward, admiring the beautiful view for a few moments before the Hatter suddenly remembered to ask him exactly what he had in mind in taking them there, "Ah, Doctor?" she began, glancing at him, "What did you have planned, coming here?" a slightly cheeky smile crossed her face, "A tea party on Mars, perhaps?"

He turned to her, shrugging…or as much as he could in his suit, "What's the point of a tea party if the Mad Hatter can't wear her hat?" he replied, his grin growing even wider as he took her gloved hand and began leading her further away from the TARDIS.

"Ha, ha," she rolled her eyes, but couldn't help let some of the amusement she was feeling sink through into her voice, "But, might I point out, unless we stay within a certain rang of the TARDIS on the Moon we still have to wear a suit, and thus, I lose my hat".

"True, but to answer your question, I thought we could take a stroll," he told her, and she thought for a moment that he might be blushing behind the glass in his helmet. Of course, that might just have been the light reflecting off the red dust that slowly rose up from the ground as they walked.

The Time Lady titled her head as much as she could in her helmet, a bright smile spreading across her face, "Brilliant!" she let go of his hand and linked her arm through his instead, "You know, I've never actually gone for a stroll on Mars before," she informed him quite happily.

"To bad your hat couldn't come along for the trip," he commented in a teasing tone, casting her a sideways look, trying hard not to smile.

Just as expected, she shot him a dark look, and nudged his side, "Don't even go there, sweetheart".

They continued walking, pausing every now and again as examine an interesting shaped rock. The Hatter swore that one of them resembled her Mother's face at one point, while the Doctor tried and failed miserably to hold in his laughter, grabbing another random rock and claiming that it looked like their old professor, Borusa, regardless of the fact it looked nothing like him. Needless to say the Time Lady wasn't impressed by his obvious teasing, but she didn't stay that way for long, not when the Doctor tripped over said Borusa look alike and almost face…well, helmet-planted the ground.

"Ooh, would you look at that!" she laughed as she watched him, grumbling swear words under his breath, pulling himself back to his feet, "It looks like rock-Borusa likes you as much as the original did".

The Doctor gave her a look, "Borusa liked me…"

The Hatter laughed harder, shaking her head, "Oh, please," she struggled to compose herself, "Borusa tolerated you and later myself, only because he was one of the few who could actually see that you weren't as idiotic as you tried to pretend to be," she told him before giving him a look, "Also, need I remind you that he very nearly had us killed all in the search for immortality so that he could be Lord President of Gallifrey forever?"

"Damn you and your good memory," he sighed, but there was fondness in his tone as he brushed his front down, and linked his arm back through hers, continuing on their way.

Eventually, they came to a rocky ledge and looked out, catching sight of what appeared to be a large space station with a doom in the middle, six tunnels attached around it to other, smaller dooms, and a large rocket just below were they were standing.

"Oh, beautiful!" the Doctor grinned broadly, looking out at the station. It wasn't the most impressive station he had come across, but it was certainly something to admire.

The Time Lady eyed the station, a small frown crossing her face as her mind whirled, "Doctor…what year is it again…?" she asked slowly. She could have easily have worked it out herself, but she had a very bad feeling that she already knew.

Suddenly, something hard and pointed jabbed into her back, causing her to jump, and she noticed that the Doctor had a similar reaction, both automatically raising their hands.

"Rotate slowly," a robotic voice ordered, and the Time Lords slowly turned around to find themselves looking down at a little robot, aiming a gun at them, "You are under arrest for trespassing," it informed them, "Gadget gadget".

The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged quick looks, the Time Lady closing her eyes. Typical, completely typical.

….

"State your names, ranks, and intention," a middle aged blonde woman ordered the Time Lords, a bright blue light shining into their faces from there end of the gun that she had aimed at them.

The robot had forced the Time Lords into the space station, where they were made to remove there suits before being searched for weapons, and once they were deemed unarmed, the questioning began.

The Doctor, eyeing the gun that was being aimed at his and the Hatter's face, answered, "The Doctor. The Doctor…" the Time Lady bit her lip, trying to stop herself from smiling, "…fun".

The woman turned to the Time Lady, giving her a hard look, obviously not impressed by the Doctor's answers.

"The Hatter," she told her, forcing herself to remain straight face, less her smile be confused with anything, "Dame…" she grimaced at the title, continuing, "Adventure…and, I suppose, _trying_ to keep the Doctor out of trouble".

Suddenly, a door opened and a young man raced inside the room, staring wide eyed at the Time Lords as he caught sight at them, "What the hell?" he exclaimed, sounding breathless, "It's a man and woman," he stepped down a set of steps, moving closer towards them, glancing over towards other members of the crew, who were standing off to the side, near the controls, watching the Time Lords, "A man and woman on Mars," he shook his head, "How?"

"They were wearing this thing," a young, blonde woman with a German accent spoke up, frowning as she held up the Time Lords suits. The new man moved over to her, eyeing the suits, "I have never seen anything like it," she remarked.

The man looked at the middle aged woman still aiming her gun at the Time Lords, "What did Mission Control say?" he asked.

"They're out of range for ten hours with the solar flares".

"If we could cut the chat, everyone," the older woman cut across them, not taking her eyes of the Time Lords, but her voice was stern.

"Actually, chat's second on my list," the Doctor commented, his eyes flickering towards the gun, "The first being gun pointed at my and the Hatter's head," he titled his head in a rather Hatter like gesture, "Which then puts me and the Hatter's head second and chat third, I think," he glanced at the Hatter, who was looking strangely amused by him. He nodded and turned back to the woman, "Gun, head, chat…yeah. I hate lists," he shook his head, grimacing.

"And homework," the Hatter added quietly, still looking amused, "Not to mention paper work…"

He shot her a small smile before looking back to the woman, eyeing the weapon seriously, "But you could hurt someone with that thing. Just…put it down," he tried.

The woman raised an unimpressed eyebrow at them, almost glaring, "Oh, you'd like that".

He narrowed his eyes slightly, "Can you find me someone who wouldn't?"

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because we give you our words," the Hatter told her sincerely, meeting her eyes, and keeping her voice calm, "And that's all you have when your forty million miles away from home. A person's word and trust, two things you can't have without the other".

For a long moment, the woman eyed them carefully, seeming to be thinking quickly before lowering her gun, "Keep Gadget covering them," she ordered.

A young man, standing just off to the side beside the robot that had found them outside, nodded, wearing silver, metal gloves.

"Gadget gadget," the robot replied.

The Time Lords turned to him, casting their eyes over the gloves and the robot, putting it all together, "Oh, right, so you control that thing," the Doctor nodded in understanding, "Auto-glove response".

"You got it," the young man responded, "To the right…" he moved his right arm and the robot, sparking slightly, moved to the right.

"Gadget gadget," it called as it moved.

"And to the left…" he moved his left arm and once more, the robot turned to the left.

"Gadget gadget".

The Time Lords eyed the robot, not very impressed, but while the Hatter kept her thoughts to herself, the Doctor couldn't help but open his big mouth, "It's a bit flimsy," he flickered his eyes from the robot to the young man, obviously not impressed.

"Doctor," the Hatter coughed, shooting him a slightly scolding look as the young man glared at him, looking insulted, "Don't be rude…"

"Gadget gadget".

"Does it have to keep saying that?" he frowned at the robot.

The man gave him an annoyed look, "I think it's funny," he replied.

"I hate funny robots," the Doctor grimaced at him, his eyes flickering towards the object in question as the Hatter smiled sympathetically, taking his hand.

"Oh, never mind, sweetheart," she whispered to him, pulling his attention away from the robot, "Not everyone can have an education like ours in regards to robotics, nor the skill, and brains. Just…" she glanced at the robot, "…just think of this robot as being the first stepping stone towards robots like K-9," she grinned slowly, nudging his side, "You know, I will never forget that time K-9 bet you at chess and you threw that tantrum…"

"I did not throw a tantrum!" he whispered back, looking outraged that she would even suggest such a thing.

The Hatter laughed, shaking her head fondly, "Well, that just goes to show that your memory is starting to slip in your old age," she commented, patting his cheek soothingly, "Never mind, at least you still have nice hair...oh, is that a grey hair?" she grinned cheekily at him as his hands flew into his hair, as if he was actually going to manage to find a grey hair with just his fingers.

He paused in his search, his eyes narrowing at her as she struggled not to burst out laughing, "Why you cheeky…" he grumbled, pointing an accusing finger at her, "There wasn't a grey hair, was there?" in answer, the Time Lady started laughing, quickly covering her mouth to try and muffle herself, "Oh, I'll get you back for this," he promised her, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

She smiled at him as her laughter calmed down, patting his cheek again, "Payback for payback, hey?"

"What was that payback for?"

"Do you see me wearing my hat, Doctor?" she gave him a dark look, "There's your answer".

"Excuse me, boss!" a woman's voice suddenly called over the intercom system, "Computer says we've got two extra people on site. How's that possible?" she asked.

They looked over to the older woman, who grabbed a comm. device off a belt around her waist, holding it up to her mouth, "Keep the Biodome closed," she instructed the other woman sternly, "And when using comms, you call me 'Captain'".

The Time Lords exchanged a somewhat impressed look, both agreeing that the older woman was obviously a natural leader.

"Yeah, but…who is it?" she called back, but there was a beeping sound and the Captain disconnected the comm.

Another, older man frowned at the Time Lords, eyeing them almost critically, "They can't be a World State flight, because we'd know about it," he remarked, appearing to have an air of authority about him, meaning that he was most likely the second in command, "Therefore, they've got to be one of the intendant's, yeah?" he cast a look around at the others before turning back to the Time Lords, "Was it the Branson inheritance lot?" he questioned them, "They've talked about Mars for years".

"Right, yes," the Doctor nodded, talking quickly as the Hatter did the same, "Okay, you've got us," he spun on his heel to look at the man, "So, I'm the Doctor and this is the Hatter…" she gave them a friendly wave, "…and you are?"

"Oh, come on," the older woman, the Captain, scoffed at them, looking at them as if they were idiots, "We're the first off-world colonists in history," she shook her head, not noticing that they lost their smiles, the Time Lady palling, "Everyone on the planet Earth knows who we are".

"I'm sorry," the Hatter cleared her throat, trying very hard to keep her voice steady as she looked quickly around at the others, "But did you just say that you're the _first_?" she exchanged a look with the Doctor, "As in the very _first _humans on Mars?"

The Doctor looked around, startled, "Then this is…" he began.

"Bowie Base One," the Time Lords and the Captain answered in unison.

"Number one!" he exclaimed, staring around at the crew in a completely different light as the Hatter began nervously fiddling with her bowtie, "Founded July 1st, 2058. Established Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater," he took a sharp step back and grabbed the Time Lady's hand, both remembering the article about it that they had read, "You've been here how long?" he asked, trying not to sound too urgent.

The older woman eyed them, "Seventeen months," she replied at once.

"Oh, my…" the Hatter breathed, staring around at them with wide, horrified eyes, "It's 2059, the years _2059_…"

"Oh!" the Doctor shouted suddenly, throwing his hands up in the air as it hit him, "My head is so stupid," he gestured at the woman before them, "You're Captain Adelaide Brook!" she frowned at him, confused as he spun back around to the older man, "And Ed!" the man eyed him, baffled, "You're Deputy Edward Gold!"

The Time Lady turned on the spot, nodding over to the young man, who had entered while they were being questioned, "And you're Terak Ital, MD," he nodded, seeming just as confused as the others as she turned around, looking at a second man, "Nurse Yuri Kerenski," the man smiled, somewhat bemused.

The Doctor turned to the young, blonde German woman, "Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich," he looked behind them and over to the young man controlling Gadget, "Junior Technician Roman Groom…"

"And Geologist Mia Bennett," the Hatter finished, looking very sadly over to a young Asian woman, "You're only twenty seven," she remarked quietly, shaking her head, "Oh, so young,_ to_ young…"

Adelaide frowned at them, pulling their attention back to them, "As I said, Doctor, Hatter, everyone knows our names".

"Oh, they'll never forget them," the Doctor told her before looking around, his eyes narrowing in worry, "What's the date, today?" he asked, "What is it? Tell us the exact date".

The Time Lady took a deep breath and closed her eyes, swallowing thickly as her suspicions was confirmed, "It's November 21st, 2059," she informed him, her voice soft as she reopened her eyes.

It was today, the day that every member of Bowie Base One would die and the entire base would explode. Volcano day all over again.

"Right," the Doctor nodded vaguely, his own voice softer than normal as he grabbed her hand again, clutching it tightly, "Okay, fine".

"Is there something wrong?" Steffi questioned suspiciously, eyeing them closely.

"What's so important about my age?" Mia frowned, obviously unsettled as she shifted.

"Doctor," the Hatter moved closer to him, keeping her voice low so that the others wouldn't hear her, her eyes flickering around the room, "We need to go," she said firmly, "We can't do anything. It's time to leave, _now_".

He nodded again, giving her an understanding look before turning back to the others, "We should…go," he told them, "We _really_ should go," he began to move away from them, still holding the Time Lady's hand before they paused, turning back to look at them, "We're sorry. We're sorry with all of our hearts, but…" he took a deep breath, "It's one of those very rare times when we've got no choice".

"I so wish, so very, very dearly that we could stay," the Time Lady looked around at them all, feeling her eyes starting to water just thinking about what was going to happen, and feeling completely awful that there was nothing they could do. She hated that feeling, the feeling of hopelessness, and both her hearts reached out for them all, "Please, we're so sorry," she tried to give them a smile, but she wasn't sure how well it actually came out.

"It's been an honour," the Doctor stepped forward and began shaking everyone's hands, the Hatter right behind him, trying once more to smile, "Seriously, a very great honour to meet you all. The Martian pioneers," they reached Roman, going to shake his hand, but he quickly held them up, showing them his gloves. The Doctor grinned at him and settled for patting Gadget instead, "Oh, thank you. Ah!"

"Gadget gadget".

They turned to Adelaide, the Doctor giving her a salute, "Thank you," he grinned at her as she raised her eyebrows at him. They began to walk away before pausing, looking back, frowning slightly, "There's the other two…" he remarked thoughtfully, "Hold on…Margret Cain and Andrew Stone".

Ed smiled and moved over to one of the computers, calling over the intercom system, "Maggie, if you want to meet the only new humans being that you're going to see in the next five years," he glanced back over towards the Time Lords, "Better come take a look".

There was silence for a moment and the Doctor and Hatter exchanged a look, before a suddenly animalistic like roar sounded over the speakers.

"What was that?" Mia gasped, looking a little fearful.

"Oh, we really should go," the Doctor groaned softly, but didn't move.

The Hatter glanced at him, growing even more worried and anxious, because the longer they stayed, the closer they got to the explosion. This strange, obviously alien roar was just more evidence that they really needed to leave, despite how much they might wish they could help.

The rest of the room moved over to the controls, "This is Central," Ed called over to the speakers, "Biodome report immediately".

"Show me the Biodome," Adelaide ordered.

Ed fiddled with the computer, frowning, "Internal cameras are down," he reported quietly.

"Show me exterior".

Obviously, whatever came up on the computer wasn't good, as Adelaide straightened, "I'm going over," she told the others, firmly before looking over to the Time Lords, "Doctor, Hatter, with me".

The Time Lords looked up, alarmed as they tried to step back, "Yeah…we're sorry," the Doctor quickly shook his head and they half jogged over to Steffi, who was still holding there suits, "Er…we'd love to help, but we're leaving right now," they tried to take the suits.

Adelaide shook her head, "Take their spacesuits, look them up," she commanded Steffi, nodding down at the suits, before looking up at the Time Lords, her eyes narrowing, "This started as soon as they arrived, so you're not going anywhere except with me".

"So much for a nice walk on Mars," the Hatter sighed heavily, exchanging a look with the Doctor.

…

The Doctor, the Hatter, Adelaide, and Terak made their way through a dimly lit tunnels towards the Biodome, using torches to help guide them, while Gadget followed behind them.

"Gadget gadget," the robot remarked.

"What's so important about Mia's age?" Adelaide asked the Time Lords, frowning over at them, both avoiding her gaze, staring straight ahead, "You said she's only twenty seven and about how young she is," she cast them a look, her eyes coming to rest on the Time Lady, "Why does it matter? What did you mean?"

The Hatter gave her a quick smile, trying hard to make it look casual rather than tense, "Oh, you'll have to forgive me," she shrugged, looking away, "I tend to ramble on, I've always had a mouth that doesn't know when to stop," she nudged the Doctor's side, shooting him a look, "I blame him".

"We don't make a lot of sense sometimes," the Doctor added quickly, linking his arm through the Time Lady's.

"Telling me," Terak commented, his eyes flickering carefully around the tunnel as he held his torch up high, allowing the light to be cast out further in front of them.

"Thank you, _Doctor_," the Doctor glanced behind him at the other man.

"Any time, _Doctor_".

"Gadget gadget".

The Time Lords exchanged a look and glanced back over their shoulders towards the robot, "I hate robots," the Doctor frowned and looked back to the front, "Did I say?"

"Yeah, and he's not too fond of you," Roman replied over the comm., "What's wrong with robots?"

"It's not robots, it's the people. Dressing them up and giving them silly voices," the Hatter coughed, giving him a somewhat pointed look, "Like you're reducing them".

"Yes, and I'm sure that K-9's squeaky little voice was terrifying to everyone who didn't know what a sweet little thing he actually is," the Time Lady muttered, allowing her amusement to seep into her voice.

"Yeah," Roman came over again before the Doctor could say anything, "Friend of mine, she made her domestic robot look like a dog".

"Ah, well, dogs," the Doctor shrugged, pointedly ignoring the Time Lady's remark, "That's different".

"But I adapted Gadget out of the worker drones. Those things are huge! They built this place when the shell was lowered down from orbit. They've got strength capacity of fifteen tons…"

"The channel is open for essential communications only," Adelaide cut in sternly, the Time Lords glanced back at the robot.

"Sorry," Roman replied, not really sounding sorry, adding quietly, "…love those drones".

The Hatter looked over at Adelaide, looking curious, "You know, we've read quite a bit about you, Captain Adelaide," she informed her, titling her head, "But, what they never said, and what I always wondered, was this all worth it?" she asked.

She glanced at them before turning back to face the front, "We've got excellent results from the soil analysis," she answered, seeming to be missing what she was actually asking.

"No, but all of it," the Doctor shook his head at her, caching on to what the Time Lady was asking, "Because they say you sacrificed everything," he eyed her face closely, "Devoted your whole life to get here".

"It's been chaos back home," she spoke after a moment of silence, "Forty long years later. The climate, the ozone, the oil apocalypse," she looked over at the Time Lords, "We almost reached extinction," she looked away, "Then to fly above that to stand on a world with no smoke, where the only straight line is the sunlight?" she back at them, a smile creeping across her face, "Yes, it's worth it".

The Time Lords looked at her, grinning broadly, "Ah!" they cheered, "That's the Adelaide Brooke we always wanted to meet. The woman with starlight in her soul".

Adelaide stared ahead of her, seeming almost as if she hadn't heard what they had said, but there was a small smile on her face, though, it didn't last long as something caught her eyes just ahead of them, "What's that?" she frowned, pausing for a second before running forward to find a young woman lying on the ground, appearing to be unconscious, a bleeding cut on her forehead, "It's Maggie," she realised, reaching her.

"Don't touch her!" the Time Lords quickly told them as the Time Lady knelt down beside the young woman, running her eyes over her.

"I know the procedure," Tarek shot them a slightly annoyed look, slipping plastic gloves on, and crouched down next to the woman, Adelaide holding her torch over her so that they could see, "Maggie, can you hear me?" he tried calling to her and gently rolled her onto her back, "It's Tarak. Maggie?" he moved his head closer to her face, making sure not to get to close, "It's okay, she's still breathing. She's alive," the Hatter continued eyeing the woman, looking concerned as the Doctor looked down the rest of the dark tunnel, looking grim. Tarek grabbed his comm. device, moving it up to his mouth, "Yuri, I've got Margaret Cain, head trauma," he called into it, "I need a full medpack".

"I've got it," Yuri called back a moment later, "Medpack on its way".

The Hatter cast one final look over the unconscious woman, feeling that helpless feeling settle over her again as she stood, and moved back to the Doctor, "What do you think?" she asked him softly, looking thoughtful, "I'm leaning towards a viral infection, myself. Still, we'll need more information before we can be certain of anything".

"We shouldn't be here," the Doctor sighed heavily, running a hand over his face.

"Well, Adelaide hardly left us with much of a choice," she replied wearily, taking his hand, "We just have to stay strong, sweetheart," she squeezed his hand tightly, "The moment we can get out of here, we will, and we'll…" she trailed off, really not being able to think of any place she would want to go, not after leaving behind all these poor people to die.

He pulled her closer to his side, seeming to understand what she meant. Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind them and they turned to see Ed and Yuri, who was carrying a stretcher and with a silver medical bag hanging over his shoulder, running towards them.

"Don't touch her," the Doctor told them firmly, "Use the gloves".

"Do what he says," Tarak agreed, not looking up from his examination of Maggie's eyes, shining a lit into one of them. Yuri glanced up at him and reached inside the bag, "Get her to Sickbay," he looked over to him, "Put her in isolation".

"We're going on to the Biodome," Adelaide looked around at them all, "Tarak, with me. Yuri can take care of her," she glanced at Ed, "Ed, go back," and over to the robot, "Gadget, stand guard. Keep an eye on this area".

"Gadget gadget".

"Captain, you're going to need me," Ed turned to her as Adelaide looked slightly annoyed, "Andy is the only crew member out here, and if that wasn't an accident," the Time Lords exchanged a quick look as Yuri looked up, seeming to be slightly surprised, "Then he's gone wild," he finished.

Adelaide gave him a hard look, "You've deserted your post," she replied sternly, Ed stared at her, "Consider that an official warning. Now, get back to work," she passed him and began heading off down the tunnel, calling, "Doctor, Hatter!"

The Time Lords glanced at Ed, left with little choice but to follow Adelaide off down the tunnel, Tarak quickly jogging to catch up with them a moment later. They continued down the tunnel, not talking as they eventually came to a heavy metal door, unlocked the door, and stepped inside a white airlock chamber with a door on the opposite wall, leading into the Biodome.

"Captain," Steffi called over the comm. system, making them all look up, "That sound we heard from the Biodome. I've run it through diagnostics. According to the computer, its…" she hesitated for a moment, "…it's Andy," the Time Lords frowned and exchanged a look, "It registers as the voice print of Andy Stone".

"Understood," Adelaide replied back into her own comm. device, sounding disappointed, "Double check, thanks," she added.

Tarek fiddled with the controls, "Air pressure stabilised," he reported to them and opened the door leading into the doom.

Adelaide clicked her torch on and stepped out carefully, the Time Lords right on her heels, their eyes flying around in the dimly lit dome, Tarek right behind them. Despite the darkness, they could make out that the very large doom was filled with plants, little paths leading off in different directions all seeming to be connected to the main work area that they had just stepped into.

"Andrew?" the older woman called loudly, "Andrew Stone? It's Captain Brooks," the Time Lords moved past her and Tarek, hurrying over to one of the computers, the Doctor pulling out his sonic and flashing it at the controls, "Andy, report. I need to see you," she tried, frowning through the darkness, "Where are you?"

The Doctor continued to sonic the computer and a moment later, with a soft hum, the lights flared back into life, lighting up most of the room, but there was still some paths towards the middle of the room that were quite dark, "There you go," he remarked, slipping his torch inside his pocket.

The Hatter gave him a mock pout, "I don't suppose you could have let me do it the old fashioned way?" she commented, sighing, "I do so enjoy playing with wires".

He flashed her a cheeky grin, "Consider it payback for earlier".

"What's that device?" Adelaide asked curiously, eyeing the sonic still in the Doctor's hand.

"Screwdriver," he replied, holding said device up for her to see before tossing it in the air, catching it, and slipping it back inside his pocket.

"Are you the Doctor or the janitor?"

The Hatter laughed, shaking her head, "Oh, please, the man couldn't even tidy his own bedroom when he knew I would be popping in when we were in school," she scoffed slightly, rolling her eyes as he gave her a mock offended look, "It's true, sweetheart. I would walk in and the place would be covered in clothing, some of it meant to be kept privet".

"It was all clean," he tried to defend weakly.

"Like that makes it any better for me, a girl, to have to see. The first time I walked in I blushed so deeply my robes looked positively pastel red".

"If we could," Adelaide cut in with a small glare at them both, "You two stay with me. Don't step out of my sight," she gave them a warning look, very obviously still not trusting them, "Tarak, go to External Door South," she ordered him, "Make sure it's intact".

Tarak nodded at her, "Yes, ma'am," and turned, walking off down one of the paths.

The Doctor moved over to where racks and different pots full of planets were, "Quite an achievement," he smiled as he admired a flowing, looking down at it, "First flower on Mars in ten thousand years," his smile turned into a full blown grin as he turned around on the spot, catching sight of another set of pots, "And you're growing veg!"

"It's that lot," Adelaide informed them, moving down one of the paths, her torch held out in front of her, keeping a keen eye out for the slightest bit of movement, "They're already planning Christmas dinner," the Doctor caught up with her, linking his arm through the Time Lady's, "Last year it was dehydrated protein, this year they want the real thing".

"Well, it is Christmas," the Hatter smiled brightly, "Best holiday there is, I've always thought. A lot more fun than ours from home," she sighed, shaking her head, remembering the painful party's she would be forced to attend, spending the entire evening trying hide in the corners to avoid relatives.

The older woman glanced at her, "If we must".

Chirping sounded overhead and the Time Lords looked up, "You've got birds!" the Doctor grinned broadly, trying to crane his neck to see.

"Aww, brilliant!" the Hatter laughed, looking delighted.

"It's part of the project, to keep the insect population down".

"Good sign," the Doctor commented, nodding.

Adelaide blinked at him, confused, "In what way?"

"Well, they're still alive".

"Captain, good news," Yuri suddenly called over the comms., catching there attention, sounding happy, "It's Maggie. She's awake! She's back with us. Hey," he obviously spoke to someone else, probably Maggie, "How are you, solider? Just take it easy. Can you remember what happened?"

The Time Lords exchanged hopeful looks, "I was just…working," a woman's voice came over, "Then I woke…woke up here".

"What about Andy?" Adelaide asked, frowning, "We can't find him. Was he all right?"

"I don't know, I just…" she trailed off, seeming unsure.

"If you remember anything, let me know straight away".

"Yuri, does she know how she ended up in the tunnel?" Ed came over.

"And keep the comms clear," Adelaide ordered, sounding annoyed as the Time Lords glanced at her, "Everything goes through me, got that?" and with that, she ended the conversation.

As they continued down the path, not saying a word since the older woman seemed have had quite enough talking. They had made it halfway into the middle of the doom when Yuri over the comm., sounding very distressed, "This is sickbay!" he spoke fast, sounding almost frantic, "We have a situation. Maggie's condition has…I don't know, I don't know what it is," the Time Lords looked over at the comm., alarmed, "It's water…just pouring out!"

"Yuri, calm down," the Captain called back, sounding concerned, but still remaining professional, "Just tell me what's happened to her".

"The skin is…sort of broken around the mouth," he replied, trying to calm himself down as they paused in the path, the Time Lords staring at the comm. device, "And she's exuding water, like she's drowning!"

"Tarek, this area's unsafe," Adelaide immediately said back into the device, surprisingly still calm, "We're going back," she frowned as there was no answer, "Tarak? Tarek!"

"Where was he?" the Time Lords asked urgently, looking around.

She turned and raced back the way they had come, the Time Lords right on her heels, turning down different paths, up a set of steps, and over a bridge before Adelaide suddenly stopped short, staring wide eyed down one of the darkened paths. The Hatter, noticing the older woman was no longer behind them, grabbed the Doctor's hand and quickly pulled him back, and followed Adelaide's gaze, the Time Lady's eyes widening as she caught sight of Tarek on his knees a short distance down the path from them, a man, Andy, standing over him with his hand on his head as water poured all over the other man from Andy's hand, his eyes appearing to be eerily white and with strange cracks around his mouth.

Both Time Lords exchanged uneasy looks, never having seen anything like what they were witnessing, which was saying something, because usually when they came across something brand new, it was never good. Regardless, they slowly and carefully moved closer, shining there torches at the scene before them.

"Andy," the Doctor began cautiously, "Just leave him alone".

Adelaide, on the other hand, seemed to think a more action oriented role was needed, and grabbed her gun, "Step away from him," she commanded, aiming the weapon at Andy.

The Hatter quickly grabbed her wrist, giving her a stern look, "Easy now," she tried, keeping her voice calm as she glanced at the older woman, taking a step in front of the line of fire, "There's no need for violence. We just need to try talking to them, maybe there's a way to fix this".

"We can help," the Doctor hastily spoke, his eyes darting from the gun, to the Hatter, and back to the two men before them, his voice fast, "We promise! We can help. Just leave that man alone…"

"I order you to stop," Adelaide tried speaking over the top of him, glaring at the Time Lady, trying to find a way around her, but every time she did, the Time Lady blocked it, "Stop, or I'll shoot!"

"Andy, we're asking you to take your hand away from him and listen to us!"

For a tense moment, they watched as Andy turned his head towards them, his eyes seeming to be staring straight through them as if he wasn't even there, but something still must have got through as his eyes narrowed, water spraying out of his mouth before he abruptly released Tarek, who wobbled on his knees for a second and collapsed back, hunched over.

The Time Lords took a deep breath, the Time Lady trying to give Andy a calming and encouraging smile, her eyes flickering worriedly over to Tarek, "Okay, that's better," she said slowly, her voice soothing, "Thank you," they took a few steps forward, still very cautious, "You must be Andy," she gave him a bright, friendly smile, "We haven't been introduced yet, but I'm the Hatter. Nice to meet you".

Tarek's soaking wet head snapped up and he looked around at them slowly, his eyes white and the same cracking around his mouth. Obviously, the infection had spread to him, and the Time Lady was beginning to suspect that it was connected somehow to the water. It just had to be.

The Doctor glanced at Adelaide, who was staring horrified at Tarek, "We've got to go," he murmured quietly so that they were the only ones that could hear, taking the Time Lady's hand, pulling her back towards them.

Adelaide took a deep, shuddering breath and let her arm still holding the gun fall back to her side, as they turned and started racing back the way they had come. The Time Lords threw looks over their shoulders, finding that Andy and Tarek were chasing after them, surprisingly fast, water splashing everywhere.

Finally, they reached the airlock door and the Doctor groaned slightly, trying to turn open the heavy door, the Time Lady glanced nervously behind them, seeing the two men steadily approaching, "We'll need to set the seals to maximum!" she called to Adelaide.

Adelaide quickly did what she was told as the Doctor managed to get the door open, and they ran inside, only just managing to get it closed as Andy raised his arm towards it, shooting a burst of water that hit the glass with a loud thud.

The Doctor jumped back from the window, acting on instinct, before they slowly moved back, looking out as the water trickled down the glass, allowing them to watch as Andy lowered his arm and moved towards them, staring at them through the glass, seeming to be examining the doorframe before suddenly lunching at the door, pounding on it.

The Hatter took a deep breath, glancing at Adelaide and the Doctor, her eyes mainly fixed on the older woman, looking sympathetic, "I'm so sorry, Captain," she told her quietly, knowing that she would be feeling responsible.

Before anyone could reply, Steffi called over the comm., "Captain, we need you back here".

The older woman quickly grabbed her comm. device, holding it up to her mouth, looking worried, "Just tell me that Maggie is contained," she ordered, "Can you confirm it, Ed?"

"Confirmed," Ed came over, "She's locked in".

She nodded, relieved, "Keep surveillance till I get back. And close down all water supplies," she added as the Time Lords looked out the window, eyeing the two men, "All pipes and outlets. Don't consume anything. Have you got that, everyone? That's an order. _Don't_ drink the water. Don't even _touch_ it. Not one drop".

The Hatter titled her head curiously, eyeing Andy thoughtfully, "I wonder…can you speak?" she asked.

"Human beings are sixty percent water," the Doctor remarked, sounding just as thoughtful as the Time Lady, "Which makes them the perfect host".

Adelaide glanced at them, "What for?"

The Time Lords exchanged a look, "We don't know," he replied, narrowing his eyes, "We never will," he turned back to look at the other woman, frowning, "Because we've got to go. Whatever's started here…" the Time Lady sighed heavily, looking apologetically at Adelaide, who frowned at them, "We can't see it to the end. We _can't_," he said firmly, almost seeming to be trying to convince himself as he looked back to the window, at Andy, who pounded on the door again, suddenly lunching himself at it. They stepped back, watching slightly nervously as Tarak joined him, and began shooting bursts of water at the doorframe from there mouths, "This thing's airtight, yeah?" he glanced at the older woman.

"And therefore watertight," she nodded.

The Hatter sighed, casting the door a weary look, "That all depends on just how smart the water is".

There was a loud bang and the controls sparked, causing them to jolt back.

"They're fusing the system!"

"Abandon ship!" the Doctor called, grabbing the Hatter's hand tightly.

Adelaide unlocked the opposite door, leading back into the tunnel, and they raced out, the Doctor and the Hatter closing the door behind them in the hope of buying more time, and hurrying after the older woman, running as fast as they could when the sound of running footsteps sounded from behind them, and they looked back to find Tarak and Andy right behind them, having broken through the airlock.

They reached Gadget and the Doctor skidded to a stop, pulling out his sonic as he moved around to the front of the robot.

"Doctor, we haven't got time!" Adelaide exclaimed.

"No, no," the Hatter shook her head, quickly moving around to try and help him as he flashed his sonic at the robot, "This is perfect, actually. They can out run us," she explained, seeing that the older woman still wasn't convinced, "Which means we need something that can give us a boost!"

"Gadget gadget!"

The Doctor finished what he was doing as the Hatter connected a wire, and stood, quickly hurrying around the robot and jumped on the back, "Get behind us!" he called to Adelaide.

The older woman's eyes widened, staring at them as if they had gone insane, "That thing goes at two miles an hour!"

"Not anymore it doesn't!" the Time Lady assured, wrapping her arms around the Doctor's waist, glancing back over her shoulder to the other woman, giving her an encouraging look, "Come on, Captain, trust us!"

She eyed them for a moment before climbing behind the Time Lady, putting her arms around her waist.

"Gadget gadget!"

"Gadget gadget!" the Doctor chorused back, flashing his sonic at the back of the robots head, starting it.

"Sorry about this, Roman!" the Hatter called, knowing he would hear her, and just what unpleasant effect this was going to cause to the poor young man.

Flames flew out of the exhaust as the robot took off, leaving two flaming tracks in their wake from the tires, the smell of burning rubber filling the air as the three of them all held on tightly. Adelaide looked back over her shoulder, gasping slightly as she Andy and Tarak struggling to keep up with them.

The Time Lady glanced back, following her gaze before turning back to the Doctor, calling into his ear, "I bit more speed, Doctor!" she laughed suddenly, unable to stop herself from enjoying the ride, "My elderly First self could have run faster than this, and she suffered from arthritis in her knees!"

The Doctor shook his head at her, unable to really say anything due to the fact that her hair was blowing widely around, and was somehow managing to reach him. He suspected that this was just more of her payback for not being able to wear her hat, but regardless, he increased the speed, causing them to rocket down the hall.

Finally, they reached the end of the tunnel, and the Doctor brought Gadget to a stop, quickly jumping off and running towards the door, the Time Lady following right behind him, trying in vain to smooth down her now completely mussed hair, wincing as her fingers caught on a knot.

"The Central Dome airlock have got Hardinger seals," Adelaide informed them, stubbing slightly as she stepped down front the robot, and hurried over to the controls, the Time Lords setting to work trying to turn the handle, "There's no way they can get in".

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted, looking back over his shoulder to see two figures catching up, struggling with the handle, "Come on!"

"Gadget gadget!"

They managed to get the door open and ran inside, the Doctor turned back around, "Come on!" he called to Gadget, gesturing urgently for it to come forward, "Come on!"

"I thought you hated robots," Adelaide frowned at him.

"I do!"

The Hatter rolled her eyes as Gadget rolled into the airlock, "He only hates the ones he hasn't had a chance to fiddle with," she remarked, shooting him a dark look.

"I make them better!" he argued.

"That's debatable in some cases, sweetheart".

Once Gadget was safely in the little space with them, they closed the heavy door and moved closer to the window, looking out as Tarak and Andy finally reached them, water tricklingly out of their mouths as they glared at them through the glass.

"We're safe," Adelaide breathed, still looking a little worried, "It's hermetically sealed. They can't get in".

The Time Lords exchanged a look, "Water is patient, Adelaide," the Doctor commented grimly, eyeing the two men, "Water just waits. It wears down the clifftops, the mountains…the whole of the world".

The Time Lady sighed, glancing over at the other woman, "Water always wins, Adelaide," she looked back out at the men, looking sad, "Eventually".

"Come on!" he grabbed the Hatter's hand and turned, heading towards the door behind them, opening it, and stepping out into a passageway leading into the Central Dome.

Aelaide grabbed her comm., holding it up to her mouth, "Biodome Tunnel is out of bounds," she called over the device, "Andy and Tarak are infected. Repeat, infected. Make no contact. And if the slightest move, tell me. I'm going to the Medical Dome".

They continued down the passageway and turned down into another tunnel, hurrying down it as Adelaide held her torch up high, lighting the way.

"Blimey, it's a distance," the Doctor remarked, panting slightly despite his respiratory bypass system, and the fact that he spend most of his life running down tunnels and corridors, "You could do with bikes in this place".

"It certainly would get you around faster," the Hatter agreed, nodding her head, not as out of breath as the Doctor was.

"Every pound in weight equals three tons of fuel," the older woman replied.

"Yeah, I know," he shook his head, shrugging, "But bikes…"

She cast them a look, shaking her head as they continued making their way down the tunnel, and reached the Medical Dome, jogging inside to find Yuri and Ed looking through a glass and into a smaller, separate room, observing Maggie. She showed the same symptoms as Andy and Tarak, only her eyes were normal human brown, rather than white.

"Has that door got a Hardingar seal?" Adelaide asked as they stepped over to the glass, glancing at Ed.

"No, just basic," Ed answered.

"Then the moment she heads for the door, we evacuate. Got that?"

Ed turned away and moved over to one of the medical monitors, checking the readings, "Pulse is low," he told them, "Electrical activity in the brain seems to be going haywire," he pressed one of the buttons on the monitor.

"Can she talk?"

"Don't know," Yuri shrugged, staring at Maggie through the glass as the Time Lords eyed her thoughtfully, "She was talking before we noticed the change, but…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

"Maggie, can you hear me?" Adelaide looked at the young woman, "Do you know who I am?" she tried, but Maggie didn't seem to be paying attention to her as she looked across at the Time Lords, seeming to be able to tell that they weren't human, "Your commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brook," she continued, "Can you tell me what happened?"

The Doctor titled his head thoughtfully, "Hoorghwall in schtochman ahn warrellinsh och fortabellan iin hoorgwahn," he spoke to her.

Maggie's eyes winded, appearing to recognise what he had said as the Time Lords watched her reaction carefully, or though the Time Lady didn't know what the Doctor had said to her, she recognised the language.

Ed glanced at the Doctor, surprised, "What language is that?"

"Ancient North Martian," he informed him.

"Don't be ridiculous," Adelaide scoffed, looking back to Maggie.

"I would have thought you would be a bit more opened minded since all this happened," the Hatter commented, glancing over at her with a raised eyebrow. It would never stop amazing her just how some human's found it so hard to believe in aliens, even when they were right in front of them.

"It's like she recognised it," Ed looked at Maggie, eyeing her closely.

"And her eyes are different," the Time Lords agreed, leaning closer to the glass, narrowing their eyes, "They're clear, like she's closer to human".

"Not close enough," the older man muttered softly, causing the Time Lady to look at him sharply, frowning.

The Doctor looked at Adelaide, "Where do you get your water from?" he questioned.

"The ice field," she replied, "That's why we chose the crater," she explained, not taking her eyes off Maggie, "We're right on top of an underground glacier".

"Tons of water," the Time Lords exchanged a slightly grim look, "Marvellous".

Yuri shook his head, "But every single drop is filtered," he pointed out, "It's screened. It's safe".

"It would certainly seem so," the Hatter remarked dryly, casting Maggie a pointed look.

"If something was frozen down there," Ed began, stepping closer to the glass, "A viral life form held in the ice for all those years…"

"Look at her mouth," the Time Lady glanced over at him, nodding her head towards Maggie, drawing there attention to the blackened mark within, covering the gums and tongue, "I assumed that it was a virus in the water when I first saw it too, but on closer inspection, that blackness inside the mouth seems more like some sort of…fission," she eyed the area, titling her head thoughtfully, "Whatever this is, it's not just _in_ the water, it's _creating_ it".

Maggie looked over at the Time Lords, almost appearing to be considering them, "Tell us what you want," the Doctor told her clearly.

"She was looking at the screen," Yuri cut in, looking at the Time Lords, "At Earth. She wanted _Earth_," he glanced back at Maggie, "A world full of water".

"Captain, with me," Ed called and moved away from them, turning their backs to the others as the Time Lords stepped over to the computers, watching and listening carefully, "I'm sorry, but it's an unknown infection and it's spreading," he spoke quietly to Adelaide, but not quietly enough for Time Lords slightly sharper hearing then humans, "That demands Action Procedure One".

Adelaide gave him an annoyed look, "Do you think I don't know that?"

"I think you need reminding," he gave her a look.

"Yeah," she nodded after a moment of silence, sounding tired.

He looked down at the ground, "Well, at least I'm good for something".

"Now and again".

"That's almost a compliment," he smiled faintly as the Hatter titled her head, wondering if that was how she and the Doctor were like when they started talking in the middle of an adventure, "Things must be serious," he remarked.

"Sorry, sorry," the Doctor cut in, moving over towards them, "But…Action One, that means evacuation, yeah?"

"We're going home," Adelaide nodded in confirmation, the Time Lords exchanged a look as she grabbed her comm. device, holding it up to her mouth, "This is Captain Brooke," she called over it, "I'm declaring Action One. Repeat to all crewmembers, this is Action One with immediate effect. Evacuate the base," she allowed a few minutes to pass before calling back over again, the Hatter took the Doctor's hand, holding it tightly, "Steffi, what's your estimate on shuttle viability?"

"It's a nine month flight," Steffi came over, "It'll take us at least three hours to load up everything we need".

"You've got twenty minutes. And give me a report on Andy and Tarak".

"Still in the Biodome tunnel," she replied, "They're just standing there, like they're waiting".

"Keep an eye on them," Adelaide ordered, moving around the room as she spoke, "And make that twenty minutes fifteen," the Time Lords simply stood back, their backs to the glass separating them from Maggie, watching as everyone moved around the room, busy grabbing things, strange looks on their faces, "Ed, line up the shuttle," she instructed him, "Go straight to ignition status".

"Doing it now!" Ed nodded and hurried out of the room.

Yuri frowned and paused in what he was doing, glancing over at Maggie, "But what about Maggie?" he asked.

"She stays behind," Adelaide told him, sounding grim but determined, "We've got no way to contain her on board. Close this place down," she commanded Yuri, "I want the power directed to the shuttle".

The Doctor opened his mouth and closed it, before moving over to Adelaide, the Time Lady right beside him, both looking resigned to what would happen, but it wouldn't be them if they didn't at least try to give the crew a chance, "Of course, the only problem is…" he started to say.

"Thank you, Doctor, Hatter" she cut him off, turning towards them, "Your spacesuits will be returned and good luck to you".

"Please, Adelaide, this is important," the Hatter tried, stepping forward and giving her a very serious look, "You need to listen, because whatever this infection is, it's smart. Far smarter then you realise".

The Doctor nodded along with her, "It didn't infect the birds or the insects in the Biodome, it _chose_ the humans," he continued, trying to stress just how important it was that she understood, "You were chosen".

"Remember what I said?" the Time Lady raised her eyebrows, "Water can wait forever, for billions of years if needed to".

"Tarek changed straight away, but when Maggie was infected it stayed hidden inside her, no doubt so it could infiltrate the Central Dome," they glanced over to Maggie, who was watching them, "Which means…"

Adelaide's eyes widened in horror as it hit her, "Any one of us could already be infected," she breathed, "We've all been drinking the same water".

"And if you go back to Earth with that…" the Hatter said slowly, giving her a weary look, "All it will take is one drop, just one…"

"But we're presuming infection," she pointed out, shaking her head, "If we can find out how this thing got through. _When_ it got through…Yuri!" she suddenly called, moving past them, heading towards the door, "Continue with Action One. I'm going to inspect the ice field".

The Time Lords stood there, staring after her as Yuri nodded, doing as he was told, "Right," the Doctor nodded, taking a deep breath, "We should…leave," he glanced at the Hatter, who nodded, "Finally…we should leave…"

"Yes, we really need to go," the Hatter agreed firmly, eyeing him carefully, "We've been here far too long as it is".

He nodded again, but it seemed as if he was trying to convince himself more than anything, "No point in us seeing the field…" he remarked, crossing his arms across his chest, "No point at all…"

"Doctor, don't do it…" the Time Lady groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose, knowing what was about to come…

"…no," he shook his head firmly, before… "Adelaide!" he shouted, taking off, grabbing the Hatter's hand.

"Oh, this is a very, very bad idea," she sighed heavily, but still, allowed the Doctor to pull her along, running after Adelaide. Well, she never really had the best self-control when it came to figuring out a mystery.

_**I'm so sorry about the wait, this chapter just didn't want to be written, but we got there in the end. The next chapter should be quite interesting, the Hatter's going to be so angry, but somehow I think her disappointment is going to be worse. I hope you liked it, tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest reviews:**_

_**Guest:**__** Yep, I did know that at one point there was a story line in Classic Who that would have had the Doctor revealed as being the Other, but because the show was cancelled it never actually happened. Still, there was also a novel that featured the Doctor discovering who he once was, but for the this story, the Doctor's not the Other, he's a descendant of the Other, but not actually him, but if he was in this story, and the Hatter found out, I don't think it would bother her. She would probably be fascinated about the ancient knowledge he had, but the whole age thing wouldn't be an issue. Time Lords age so differently to humans that a few thousand years age difference would only lead to even more teasing on her part about him being a cradle snatcher or something along those lines. She already teases him about being old now and she's only four months younger then him, so just imagine if he actually was the Other.**_

_**As for if the Doctor was to die, she would be devastated, of course, but I think that after losing her children, she would find the strength to move past his death. If she didn't do anything like as to commit suicide, (or though it was a close call) when her children died, I don't think there would be anything, even the Doctor's death that would cause her to do that. I imagine that she would become even more determined to keep the Universe safe in his name, and perhaps she would lose some of that fun loving spirit about her, but she would live on, just like he did after the Time War. Thanks for the review and sorry about how long it's taken to get back to you :)**_

_**The 13**__**th**__** Doctor:**__** Aww, thank you so much, I'm so glad that you like it. I would love to hear what your story idea is, and I really encourage you to write it. Trust me, writing a story and publishing it can be pretty scary, I still get nervous every time I post a chapter, but the more you actually write, the better your writing gets and the more you learn. If you think the story idea is good and it's what you would want to read, then try writing it yourself, because honestly, the more time you spend writing, the more you improve. When I first started on here, I didn't even have talking marks. It was awful, so believe me, you can't get any worse than that. Thanks for the review, and sorry about the lateness :)**_


	6. Chapter 6 The Waters of Mars, Part 2

_**The Waters of Mars, Part 2.**_

Despite the Hatter's lack of fighting as she allowed the Doctor to pull her along, she was still feeling as if they were making a very big mistake in staying. Yes, she wanted to know what the infection was, and yes, she did want to give the crew the best fighting chance that they could have, but she just couldn't shake off the feeling that when the next chance came for them to leave, something would happen and they would end up staying for the end, which was causing her to feel even more nervous, not just because of the explosion, that didn't bother her so much. She had been in similar situations many times before, but more the point of what effect this entire thing would have on the Doctor.

Ever since he had been told that his song was ending soon, he had changed, not a lot, just a little. He began spending more time lost in his own thoughts, which may not have been unusual, but it was the fact that he always tried changing the subject whenever she would question him about it, and that in its self was very, very worrying to the Time Lady. She just desperately hoped that what she feared wasn't about to happen.

The Time Lords raced down the narrow hallways of the Medical Dome, finally reaching the main tunnel to see Adelaide running just ahead of them. It didn't take them long before they caught up with her, the Doctor grinning, "All I'm saying is…bikes!" he called to the older woman, who hardly even seemed surprised to see them, "Little foldaway bikes. Don't weigh a thing".

"Or even little fold-up scooters would be good," the Hatter commented, considering the fact that she had never learnt to actually ride a bike, it was probably best if it was something like a scooter.

They continued running along the tunnel until they reached a door, Adelaide opened it and they stepped inside to find themselves in a large room with numerous pipes running around it, obviously used to carry the water throughout the entire base. They moved through the room and over to where an area had been railed off, looking down at a large, perfectly square pit, covered in white ice, more pipes running down through it.

"Goodness," the Hatter titled her head, looking over the ice, "You know, if there wasn't the very real fact that a nasty infection is under that ice, I would almost say that it's pretty".

The Doctor glanced at her, a small smile tugging on his mouth, "You've always been fond of snow and ice, haven't you?"

A smile spread across her own face before she winced slightly, "Not so much when I'm falling painfully on it while trying to ice-skate," she replied, shaking her head, "Try being the key word, sweetheart".

He looked back over the ice, trying hard not to look to amused by the mental image that formed of the Time Lady, "They tell legends of Mars from long ago," he remarked quietly, talking mainly to Adelaide, "Of a fine and noble race who built an empire out of the snow…"

"The Ice Worries," the Time Lady finished, glancing across at the other woman.

"I haven't got time for stories," Adelaide waved them off, hurrying over to a computer a short distance away.

"Perhaps they found something down there," the Doctor continued, exchanging a thoughtful look with the Hatter, who was eyeing the ice curiously, "Used their might and their wisdom to freeze it".

"Doctor, Hatter, we need to find any sort of change in the water process," she called sharply to them and they quickly moved to join her at the computer, "We've got to date the infection".

The Time Lords began typing on one of the computers, the Doctor slipping his glasses on, but the computer announced a moment later, "Access denied".

The Hatter sighed, "Here, let me try something…" she moved closer, her finger's dancing across the keys.

"You two don't look like cowards," Adelaide commented after a short moment, glancing across at them with a small frown, "But all you've wanted to do is leave," she paused, eyeing them carefully, "You know so much about us".

"Well…" the Doctor tried shrugging her off, dragging the word out, "…you're famous".

"It's like you know _more_," she insisted.

The Time Lords exchanged a quick look, the Hatter nervously fiddled with her bowtie, giving the Doctor a sharp, stern look, very obviously warning him to be extremely careful just what he said.

"This moment…" he began carefully, his eyes fixed on the Hatter as she returned her attention back to the computer, still typing, "_This_ precise moment in time, it's like…" he hesitated, trying to think of just what he _could_ say and _how_ he could explain it, "I mean, it's only a theory, what do I know?" he shrugged, shifting his eyes to the ground, "But I think certain moments in time are fixed. Tiny, precious moments," he glanced over to Adelaide, who meet his eyes, the Time Lady glanced up at him, giving him a another warning look, "Everything else is in flux, anything can happen, but those certain moments, they have to stand," he looked away from her, "This base on Mars with you, Adelaide Brooke, this is one _vital_ moment. What happens here must always happen".

"_Always_," the Hatter murmured softly, too softly for even the Doctor to hear, her gaze fixed on him before she forced herself to keep typing.

Adelaide stared at him, "Which is what?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied after a moment, shaking his head before he paused, glancing across to the older woman, "I think something wonderful happens. Something that started fifty years ago, isn't that right?"

"Doctor," the Time Lady said sharply, her eyes snapping over to Adelaide.

She turned back to them, her eyes widening in shock, "I never told anyone that," she breathed.

"You told your daughter. And maybe one day she tells the story to her daughter. The day the Earth was stolen and moved across the Universe. And you…"

"_Doctor, you are entering very dangerous waters_," the Hatter hissed telepathically. This was it, the start of just what she was afraid of.

He flinched slightly, his eyes closing for a second before he took a deep breath and reopened them, forcing himself to look back at Adelaide.

The older woman hesitated, "I saw the Daleks…" she replied quietly after a long moment, her eyes growing distant as she remembered, "We looked up. The sky had changed. Everyone was running and screaming. And my Father took hold of me…" she swallowed hard, shaking her head, "I never saw him again. Nor my Mother. They were never found," she paused before slowly continuing, "But out on the streets, there was panic and burning. I went to the window, and there, in the sky…I saw it, Doctor, Hatter," her voice trembled slightly, just for a moment as the Time Lords listened, knowing better than anyone just what she was talking about, "And it saw me," she breathed, "It stared at me. It looked right into me…and then…it simply went away," she smiled sadly, "I knew, that night…I knew I would follow it".

"Yes, but it wasn't because you wanted revenge," the Hatter smiled slowly, truly proud to be able to say that she had meet a woman like Adelaide Brooke, who despite having every reason to, chose a different path from revenge. Even she couldn't claim to have been able to do that after her children's deaths.

Adelaide actually frowned at the very idea of going after revenge, her eyes watering, "What would be the point of that?"

The Time Lords exchanged smiles, "That's what makes you remarkable," the Doctor remarked, "And that's how you create history".

The Time Lady's smile vanished and she quickly grew serious again, "That's enough, Doctor," she spoke sternly, lowering her voice to just above a whisper, "If you keep this up, then you're going to end breaking one of the very first rules of Time," her eyes fixed on him sharply, "And need I remind you that even though Gallifrey and the Time Lords are all but gone, the Rules of Time are even more important".

"What do you mean?" Adelaide questioned, frowning as she looked in-between them, taking note of the tension that seemed to be rolling off them both in waves.

The Doctor hesitated, his eyes flickering to the Time Lady as he swallowed, "Imagine it, Adelaide," he turned to her, practically feeling the Hatter's eyes glaring into the back of his head, but he needed to tell her, she needed to know, "If you began a journey that takes the human race all the way out to the stars. It begins with you, and then your Granddaughter, you inspire her!"

"You need to stop," the Hatter grabbed his arm tightly, her eyes widening as she glanced at Adelaide, "Sweetheart, you have to stop this right now. I know that you think this is right, I know that you think this is the right thing to do, but the Rules of Time must be followed!"

"She needs to know!" he snapped suddenly, taking the Time Lady so much by surprise that she actually let go of him, taking a step back. They had fought many times before, but he had never used that tone of voice with her before. He closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath before looking back at her, "I'm sorry," he said quietly, looking ashamed, but still determined, "I just…she's got to know before…" he trailed off, swallowing.

For a long moment the Time Lady simply stared at him, her expression unreadable, "You had better know what you're doing, Doctor," she eventually said, her tone just as expressionless as her face.

Adelaide looked in-between them, her eyes wide, and completely confused by what they were talking about, but what she did manage to work out is that the Hatter wasn't happy with what the Doctor telling her.

He nodded slowly, swallowing again. With this regeneration of hers, he had noticed that when she was truly angry or upset, mostly a bit of both, she grew very quiet and hid her emotions, but usually it was directed towards someone else, such as that time with Rose, and it really was quite frightening to be on the receiving end.

He turned back to Adelaide, "In thirty years Susie Fontana Brooke is the pilot of the first light speed ship to Proxima Centauri," he continued, but some of the enthusiasm from before was missing as the Time Lady pointedly returned to typing, "And then everywhere, with her children, and her children's children forging the way to the Dragon Star, the Celestial Belt of the Winter Queen, the Map of the Watersnake Wormholes. One day a Brooke will even fall in love with a Tandonian prince, that's the start of a whole new species," he smiled slightly, looking at Adelaide again, whose eyes were wide with wonder, "But everything starts with you, Adelaide. From fifty years ago to right here, today. Imagine".

"Who are you?" she asked, staring at him, glancing at the Time Lady who seemed to be trying to ignore what was going on, but she noticed that she seemed to be hitting the key's a little harder than necessary, "Why are you telling me this?" she narrowed her eyes, but her voice was surprisingly soft, "Doctor…why tell me?"

"As consolation," he replied painfully.

The Hatter sighed heavily and closed her eyes, her back turned away from them. She might not have been pleased with how much information the Doctor had told her, but she did admit that she could understand why he did it, she just wish that things were different. She reopened her eyes and hit a button on keypad, finally cracking into the system, "Ah, here we go," she announced, her voice sounding a little brighter, but it was still quite forced, "I really need to practise," she muttered, shaking her head, looking disappointed in herself, "That really should have taken a minute".

The Doctor and Adelaide turned to look at the computer screen as a picture of Andy popped up on screen, followed by the maintenance log, "Andy Stone," the older woman breathed, staring at the picture, checking the date, "He logged on yesterday".

The Time Lady clicked another button and a recording of Andy appeared, appearing to be in the Biodome, "Maintenance log, twenty one twenty, November 2059," he called over the recording, "Number three water filter's bust," he held up a flat, circled filter, "And guess what? The spares they sent don't fit," he lowered his arm, saying sarcastically, "What a surprise. Over and out," and with that, the recording ended.

"A filter!" the Time Lords exclaimed in realisation, "One tiny little filter and then the Flood".

"But that means the infection arrived today," Adelaide began, looking hopeful, "And the water's only cycled out of the Biodome after a week," a grin slowly spread across her face, "The rest of us can't be infected. We can leave!" she turned and started walking back the way they had come, the Time Lords following as she lifted her comm. device to her mouth, "Ed, we're clean!" she called, "How are we doing?"

"Shuttle's active!" Ed told her, "Stage one!"

…

They ran back through the tunnel, Adelaide still grinning, "You were right, Doctor!" she called to him.

"What about?" he asked curiously, the Hatter glancing at her, also.

"Bikes!"

Despite the situation, and the fact that the Time Lady was still upset with the Doctor, they couldn't help but join in laughing along with her.

"I still say scooters would be better," the Hatter remarked, shaking her head in amusement.

…

They quickly arrived back at the main control room as the rest of the crew rushed around the room, still collecting thing's that they would need on their return trip as Adelaide approached them, having disappeared for a few moments, carrying their space suits in her hands.

"Now get to your ship," she told them as she handed the suits over, her eyes sparkling with hope. The Hatter felt slightly ill seeing it and knowing what was going to happen, "I'm saving my people, you save yourselves," she smiled, "I know what this moment is. It's the moment we _escape_," she gave them a stern look, her smile vanishing, "Now get out".

She turned and walked off towards her crew as the Time Lords stared after her, both looking grim as they clutched there suits, hardly seeming to be aware that they even had them back. The Time Lady felt sick watching how hopeful they all were, but she supposed that it was better than them knowing what was to come.

"We ought to go, sweetheart," she murmured to the Doctor, reaching out to take his hand, juggling her suit and helmet in her arms as she did so.

"Yes," he agreed, but neither of them made a move to leave, simply watching.

The Time Lady frowned after a moment, hearing a feint beeping sound and looking over to were the controls were, her eyes moving up to the screen were Andy and Tarak's bio-feeds was going off, an image of two blinking red dots moving across the screen on the roof over their heads, but with the crew so busy rushing around, no one else had noticed. She swallowed and nudged the Doctor's side, drawing his attention to the screen.

As the crew continued running around, shouting out to the others, Adelaide paused, frowning, "What the hell's that noise?" she called loudly over the other's, finally taking notice of the alarms, "Mia, you lot, shut up!"

Everyone fell silent at once and the sound of the alarm going off sounded clearly through the room.

"It's the module sensors," Ed announced to the room, standing in front of the screen, looking down at the flashing red dots, "Exterior twelve," the rest of the crew moved around to look for themselves, "The cameras are down, but there's pressure on top of the module. Two signals right above us".

"That means…they're on the roof?" Steffi breathed, looking up at the ceiling in horror, the others, including the Time Lords, gazing up, too.

Roman swallowed, "How did they get inside the Dome?"

"They used the maintenance shafts," Ed replied.

"The shaft's open and they haven't got spacesuits," Mia shook her head, looking shocked, taking Yuri's hand, who was standing beside her.

"They breathe water".

"But they'd freeze!" Steffi argued, glancing over at him and quickly back up.

"They've got internal fission," Yuri remarked.

The Time Lord exchanged looks, both swallowing thickly, clutching each other's hands even tighter.

"But we're safe, they can't get through, can they?" Mia asked quickly, looking around, very scared, just as the roof creaked loudly, the sound of the metal groaning, as if under great presser echoed through the room, causing them all to look up again, "Can they?" she questioned even more urgently.

"This place is airtight," Roman shook his head, his voice soft.

"Can they get through?" Steffi looked over to Ed worriedly, "Ed, can it get through?" she asked again when he didn't answer.

"I don't know!" Ed replied, snapping slightly, his own fear and worry beginning to break through, "Water itself isn't motile, but has some sort of persistence".

"Everyone, listen to me!" Adelaide called around them, seeing that she needed to take charge and quickly, "That's ten feet of steel-combination up there," she said calmly, pointing towards the roof, "We need all the protein packs or we're going to starve. Now keep working," she ordered, turning to Roman as the other's hurried off, continuing with what they were doing before, "Roman, watch the ceiling," he nodded and looked up, "Ed, get to the shuttle. Fire it up," she called to him as she began to move away.

Ed, looking frustrated, stood, "I can carry more than this lot, Captain".

"That's an order!"

"Captain," he nodded, smiling grimly before running out of the room.

The Time Lords continued to watch on as Adelaide ran around the room, making sure that everything was in order, remembering the article about just this day. It was awful, watching them all completely unaware of what was going to happen, that they weren't going to ever see Earth again, and the Hatter could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes that she quickly wiped a little awkwardly on her shoulder, since one hand was holding her suit and the other was clutching onto the Doctor's hand.

"We…" she cleared her throat, her voice breaking slightly, "We have to go, sweetheart".

The Doctor took a deep breath, casting one last miserable look at the room, before turning and walking towards the door, forcing themselves to keep going.

….

They opened the airlock door and stepped into the small space, both wearing there suits and helmets once more. The door hissed shut behind them as it closed automatically and they exchanged a long, heartbroken look before the Hatter, swallowing hard, stepped over to the control panel on the wall, pressing the button to open the door.

"Access denied," the computer announced overhead.

"No, that's not right…" she frowned, hitting the button again.

"Access denied".

"Tell me what happens," Adelaide's voice came over the speaker in there suits.

"We don't know," the Doctor told her softly.

"Yes, you do. Now tell me".

"Adelaide, you should be with your crew," the Hatter said to her gently, but firmly, glancing up at the camera in the corner of the airlock, knowing she was watching them through it, "Please, they need there Captain more than ever right now".

"Tell me!" she demanded, this time raising her voice slightly as the Time Lords remained silent. She sighed heavily, "I could ramp up the pressure in that airlock and crush you both," she threatened.

"Except you won't," they replied, "You could have shot Andy Stone, but you didn't," they smiled sadly, "We loved you for that," the Doctor's voice turned soft as he continued, "Imagine…imagine you knew something. Imagine you found yourself somewhere. I don't know…Pompeii".

"Doctor, careful," the Hatter whispered quickly to him, her voice sharp, but not as sharp as it had been earlier that day. She just couldn't bring herself to not try to tell Adelaide, and she knew the Doctor felt the same.

"Imagine you were in Pompeii," he tried to tell her, giving the Hatter's an apologetic squeeze, knowing that she was certainly not going to be happy with him, but he needed Adelaide to understand, to understand _why_ they couldn't save them.

"What the hell's that got to do with anything?" the older woman asked, obviously frowning.

"And you tried to save them, but in doing so, you make it happen. Anything I…"

"_We_, Doctor," the Time Lady corrected him firmly, not going to allow himself to take all the blame when she was just as responsible as he was.

He nodded slowly, knowing better to try arguing with her right now, continuing, "…_we_ do…just makes it happen".

"Captain, we need you right now!" Steffi called urgently in the background, sounding out of breath.

There was a pause before Adelaide called back to them, "I'm still here".

The Hatter took a deep breathe, closing her eyes tightly before reopening them, "Right now, you have enacted Action One," she remarked quietly, her voice grim, "But there's still four other standard action procedures," she looked up at the camera, "And the last one is Action Five, yes?"

"Detonation".

"The final option," the Doctor looked up at the camera, unable to help himself from thinking about the small similarities of detonating the base and to when he used The Moment, "The nuclear device at the heart of the Central Dome. Today, on the twenty first of November 2059, Captain Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all her crew members with her," he told her softly, "No one ever knows why. But you were saving the Earth".

"And that's what we go on to inspire your Granddaughter," the Hatter informed her, smiling weakly, "She'll take your people out into the galaxy and all because you…" she trailed off, her voice breaking, unable to tell her what was about to happen to her and her crew, not just because of the number of laws she would have broken in doing so, but because she simply couldn't.

He swallowed hard, "Because you die on Mars," he finished, forcing his voice to become stronger, "You die today. She flies out there…like she's trying to meet you".

The Time Lady cast him a look, "Oh, you really shouldn't have said that," she murmured, shaking her head. She would have covered her face if it wasn't for the helmet, "No, this isn't…we need to stop talking right now," she told him sternly, horrified that she had actually gone along with him and hadn't stopped him.

Adelaide gasped, "I won't die," she whispered, her voice growing stronger with determination, but they could both hear the tears, "I will _not_".

"But your death creates the future".

The Hatter closed her eyes painfully.

"Help me," she pleaded desperately, "Why won't you help, Doctor, Hatter? If you know all of this, why can't you change it?" her voice grew angry.

"We can't," the Time Lady told her, so terribly sad, tears beginning to slip down her cheeks, "And we are so, so incredibly sorry".

"Why can't you find a way? You could tell me, I don't know…"

"I'm sorry, but we can't," the Doctor shook his head, trying to be heard over the top of her, "Sometimes we can, sometimes we do," Adelaide stopped talking, listening, "Most times we can save someone, anyone. But not you," he took a deep breath, "You wondered all your life why that Dalek spared you. I think it knew. Your death is fixed in time forever. And that's right," he finished sadly.

The Hatter frowned, shaking her head slightly. There was nothing right about any of this, nothing right about good, innocent people dying, just like it was horrific that all those people in Pompeii died, and yet, there was still nothing they could do stop any of it from happening, because that was the way time worked. It wasn't fair, nor just, but it was the way it had to be, and she hated it.

"You'll die here, too," Adelaide remarked quietly.

"No," he replied.

"What's going to save you?"

"Captain Adelaide Brooke," he attempted to smile, but it turned into more of a grimace.

For a long moment there was nothing, until the airlock on the door opposite them hissed open, allowing them to step back out onto the planet's surface, the words 'unlocked' flashing across the screen.

"Damn you," Adelaide hissed, and they closed their eyes tightly, still able to hear everything.

"Water!" Roman's voice came over suddenly, shouting frantically, followed by the sound of water crashing heavily onto the floor in the background, "We've got water!"

"Captain!" Mia cried, almost hysterical, "Get back! Get back! Captain! Don't touch it, Roman! Get back, get back!"

"Everyone, we're abounding this section," Adelaide ordered her crew, forcing herself to remain calm, "Get to the shuttle! Yuri, lead the way. Section B corridor, now!" the sound of a door sliding open sounded, following by the sound of water crashing heavily on something, "Close it!" she shouted at someone.

"Yuri, did that water touch you?" Mia called.

"I'm safe!" Yuri replied loudly.

"Did it touch you?" Steffi asked urgently, sounding panicked, "Yuri, did that water touch you?"

"I'm clean! I'm dry!"

The Time Lords exchanged looks, not yet making a move to leave the airlock.

"Everyone, Section B is out!" Adelaide shouted around to them all, trying to be heard over all the chaos, "Listen to me! Take every pack that you can! We'll go round. We'll make our way out through Section F!"

"Transferring oxygenation to Section F!" Steffi announced, "Mia, you take the redline stock. And hurry up!" she ordered.

A moment past, when the sound of metal groaning came over, followed by the sound of more water, and the sound of Steffi crying out desperately. The Time Lords closed their eyes painfully, realising that it could only mean that she had been trapped.

"Steffi, come!" Yuri shouted.

"Steffi, get back!" Mia cried frantically.

"Steffi, keep back!" Adelaide called quickly.

"Get back!"

"Steffi!"

"Get back, Steffi!"

"Screen!" Adelaide suddenly shouted.

"Shut the door!" Yuri desperately called, "Close the door!"

The sound of a door sliding shut sounded over the sound of the water.

"Steffi, we'll come get you, okay?" Roman came over, talking loudly, "We'll come get you!"

"Steffi!" Adelaide yelled.

"Captain!" Steffi cried, sounding terrified.

"We'll open the access panel! We'll get you out through the back. Get out of here!" she obviously ordered the crew, "Move it!"

"Captain, it's inside!"

"Steffi!"

"Steffi, get back!" Mia shouted.

The Time Lords moved over to the door and opened it, stepping out of the airlock, desperately trying to shut the screams and shouts out, but it was no use. They needed to leave, and quickly.

"We're coming, Steffi!" Adelaide cried, "Hold on!"

"The access panel's fused, Captain!" Roman called, "We can't open it!"

Steffi began screaming and sobbing.

"We can't get through!" Yuri shouted.

"I can't move!" Steffi sobbed loudly.

They forced themselves to keep walking, to not look back as the Time Lady grabbed the Doctor's hand, clutching on to it so tightly that it hurt.

"Hallo, Mutti," a little girls came over and the Hatter sobbed, almost stumbling over a rock, but she forced herself to keep walking. She had known that Steffi was a mother, but hearing the little girl's voice just made it so much worse, "Hello, Mars!" the little girl giggled, continuing in German.

Steffi sobbed even harder, muttering softly in German before she suddenly gasped.

"Steffi!" Adelaide came over, her voice urgent, "Can you hear me?"

They could hear Steffi groaning, whimpering with pain as she began transforming.

"Oh, my God," Mia gasped, horrified.

"Out!" the Captain commanded, "Get out. Ed, we're going round the long way. How are we doing?"

"All systems online one hundred percent," Ed replied, "Not a single delay. Don't worry, Captain, we are going to fly".

The rockets engines fired up, causing great waves of smoke and dust to fly all around as the Time Lords kept walking, just forcing themselves to put one foot ahead of the other.

"I need air in Section F right now!" she ordered, "All of you…"

"Locking chamber three," Yuri reported, "Locking chamber four!"

"The water is going to get through," Romana called.

"Keep moving!"

"Gate five is open," he announced, "Gate six is open".

"Quickly, come on!" Yuri called as the sound of metal groaning came through the link in the Time Lords suits.

"I've got twenty five to thirty locked down," Mia told the others.

"Roman, come on," Adelaide ordered after a moment, "With me".

"You'd better go," Roman breathed, his voice shaking slightly.

"Don't just stand there. Move".

"You'd really better go without me," he said replied, sounding close to tears, "I'm sorry, Captain. One drop".

"No," the Hatter cried, sobbing as the Doctor closed his eyes painfully, wrapping his arm around her, pulling her closer to his chest as she shook.

The sound of heavy, shaky breathing sounded as the infection took hold…

"Roman!" Mia screamed, horrified, "Roman!"

"Leave him, come on," Yuri grunted, sounding as if he was struggling with something.

"We can't just leave him!"

"Come on!"

"Let me go!" she cried.

"We've got to go!"

"Roman!"

"I'm so sorry".

The sound of a door sliding open and closing a moment later on Mia's sobs and cries sounded. A moment later, Ed's voice came over, sounding as if he was in pain, "Captain," he called, "The shuttle is down".

"What the hell do you mean?" Adelaide demanded urgently.

The Doctor and the Hatter forced themselves to keep walking, the Time Lady practically leaning on the Doctor as she cried softly, realising that yet another person had just been infected.

"Compromised," he replied, swallowing painfully, "It was Maggie".

"Get out of there!"

"Too late," he groaned, "They want this ship to get to Earth. Got no choice," the sound of something beeping sounded, "Hated it, Adelaide, this bloody job. Argh!" he cried out in pain, "You never gave me a chance," his voice grew strained, seeming to be finding it hard just to talk, "You never could forgive me," he gasped shakily, "See you later".

Suddenly, the shuttle exploded in a massive fireball, sending the Time Lords flying to the ground as the last three crew members screamed in terror and shock as they too were thrown around. They quickly looked back, flinching as bits of debris began raining down around them.

"We're losing oxygen!" Yuri shouted, "The hull is broken!"

Fire rained down around them as they looked back at the complete devastation that the explosion had caused to the base. The Hatter's eyes widened in horror as she took it all in, flashes of Gallifrey and Pompeii flying through her mind. She wanted to cover her ears and close her eyes so that she couldn't hear or see anything, but she knew that even without the helmet on she still wouldn't be able to shut it out. Somehow, it would have felt disrespectful and wrong to even try.

The Doctor's mind was buzzing with thoughts as he pulled himself back up, staring at the base, everything that he had heard and or said about the Time Lords since the Time War raced through his mind, which all seemed to come down to one thing. He and the Hatter were the last two Time Lords left, they were in control of time, and they could do what they wanted to do now, because there was certainly no High Council to stop them. He looked over to the Hatter, who had pulled herself back to her own feet, and was watching him with red, watering concerned eyes, and he smiled grimly.

"Doctor?" she asked carefully, her voice slightly rough from crying, making her Scottish accent even more pronounced, "What are you thinking?" she really didn't need to ask, though, because she could already tell, and it terrified her.

"It's okay," he told her, his voice sounding strangely distant to him as he looked back towards the base, looking determined as he began to head back towards it, "No one else is going to die, because we can stop it from happening".

"What?" she gasped, staring at him wide eyed. It was just as she had feared, "Are you insane?" she ran in front of him, stopping him in his tracks as she firmly put her hands on his shoulders, holding him still, "Doctor, please listen to me," she took a deep, forcefully calming breaths, knowing that she needed to stay calm if she was going to have any chance of getting through to him, "This is a fixed point, we can't stop it, no matter how much we might want to…"

"That's what it was in the old days," he argued, still smiling at her grimly, "The Time Lords are gone, it's just us now, and the Laws of Time are ours to control".

"Don't you hear yourself? Doctor, the Laws of Time were put in place to keep the Universe in balance, to make sure that people like us didn't go running around, causing havoc because we meddled with a fixed point! The Time Lords understood how dangerous and tempting it is to try changing things, it's one of the reasons they came up with the non-interfering policy…"

"A policy you and I have never agreed with!"

The Hatter closed her eyes in frustration, resisting the no doubt amusing urge to start jumping up and down on the spot, "Yes, that's true," she agreed, somehow still keeping her calm, "But you have to admit that the point still stands. The Laws of Time control us, we swore oaths to protect them and follow them, that doesn't mean that now we're the last two Time Lords left that we get to control them! It doesn't work like that, if anything it's the other way around. It's up to us more than ever to protect time," she took a deep breath, trying to give him a small, sad smile, "Sweetheart, I wish with both my hearts that this could be different, truly I do, but we can't meddle. Not this time, there's far too much at risk".

"Hatter, you don't understand," the Doctor shook his head, actually looking at her sadly, "We are Time Lords…"

"If I have to hear you say that one more time then I am going to kick you so hard, it will echo back to you First Self," she finally snapped angrily, her eyes turning to ice as she glared at him, "This stupid superiority complex you are currently tripping on is making you completely irrational! You can't even see how wrong this is, how this will affect the future of the human race! For crying out loud, Doctor, just stop and look at yourself, look at what you are becoming, because this sure as hell not the man I consider to be my best friend talking right now, because if he could see this, he would be appalled!"

He glared right back at her, looking angry, "Oh, and who am I if I'm not your best friend?"

The anger seemed to fade slightly in the Time Lady as she looked back at him, meeting his glare without flinching, a look of terrible sadness crossing her face, "I always wondered why and how the Valeyard became what he did," she remarked softly, the Doctor inhaled deeply and took a step back from her, as if she had slapped him, "I just never thought I would actually witness his beginning first hand".

The Doctor stared at her, wide eyed with horror, "I'm _nothing_ like him".

She smiled at him sadly, "Yes, I expect that's just what he said, too," she nodded, sighing after a moment as she removed her hands from his shoulders and took his hand, "Look, sweetheart, I'm not going to argue with you anymore, because it's obviously not going to get me anywhere. I've said my part, you know how I feel, and now it's up to you to decide what you're going to do. If you want to go back there, fine, I won't stop you, but I'm not going to _help_ you either," she told him firmly, making sure he understood, "I can't, not with this. I took an oath when I took my name, and I can't break it, not now," he nodded, resigned, understanding perfectly what she was saying, but still determined. She smiled at him gently, "Be careful, and if you're not back within fifteen minutes, I shall be coming for you, regardless of this power trip, and if need be, I will hit you over the head until you get your senses back, understood?" she finished, her tone sweet, but her eyes hard with the warning.

He swallowed, still shocked by her remark about the Valeyard, "Why aren't you threatening to drag me back to the TARDIS?" he asked, generally confused.

"Because I believe in learning from your mistakes," she replied, shrugging, "It's easy for me to tell you what to do, to shout or drag you back to the TARDIS, but with something like this, despite how wrong I believe it to be, I think you need to learn that yourself…or remember. It's not a pleasant thing, I agree, but it is very effective," she titled her head at him.

"So…you're treating me like one of your children?" he blinked at her, looking caught between amusement and offense.

"If you are going to act like a Time Tot who doesn't understand the Laws of Time, then you force me to. Just don't force me to take desert away and send you off to bed early, too".

And with that, after giving him a tight hug, of course, she strolled off as casually as she could, humming a completely random tune to herself, but the moment she was sure she was out of eyeshot, she began wringing her hands anxiously. Had she done the right thing, letting him make his own decision on what to do, even though she already knew that he was sticking to his plan, but had she been right to leave him to it alone? She couldn't tell, not yet.

Truth be told, she was horrified by what he had said about time being there's to do what they wished with, because he had never ever been like that, if anything, he had always been the complete opposite. A strong part of her wanted to run back to him and follow him back to the base, but the other, hard logical Time Lord part of her knew that this needed to happen, that unless he was forced to see just what after affect this would cause, then he would just end up doing it again, and as much as she would love to protect him from the pain and guilt she knew was going to follow, she couldn't. Not this time, because, she just had to be there to hold him when it did all end badly, because she knew if Adelaide did live, she would be possibly even more horrified then the Time Lady was.

She finally reached the TARDIS and slipped her key in the lock, stepping inside were she was welcomed to a rather angry hum throughout the room, causing her to wince as she slipped off the helmet, sitting it on the console chair, "I know, I know," she sighed heavily, stepping up to the console and patting it soothingly, "I'm sorry old girl, but you have to understand that words can only do so much sometimes. We can't protect him from himself when he doesn't even see that what he's doing is wrong," she run a had tiredly down her face, rubbing her eyes, "Sometimes, you have to fall before you can rise again," she murmured to herself, remembering the Doctor telling her the very same thing after she lost her children.

Unable to remain in one place for too long, the Hatter began pacing around and around the console, absently shedding her space suit, feeling ill just looking at it as she chucked it to the furthest corner of the room, more than happily grabbing her hat and putting it on, but even having her lovely hat back in its rightful place didn't make her feel any better.

She hated this, the waiting, the knowledge that she had left the Doctor alone like that, she could feel the guilt welling up inside her, but what else could she have done? When she made a promise or an oath, she kept it, and this oath had been such an important one, one that each and every Time Lord made when they graduated from the Academy, and she just couldn't morally break it, especially after the Time War. Why did this whole thing have to be just so…hard? But she supposed that if something like this hadn't happened before now, it was bound to happen eventually.

After all, she understood the temptation to change time. Despite it being completely against every Law of Time, not to mention Gallifreyan laws, she would be lying if she was to say that she hadn't considered the idea of just popping back into time to when she knew Eighth Self would be before the Time War had even began, probably her Seventh self-more than her Eighth, since it would have given her enough forewarning to actually stop the Time War from ever happening. When she had first returned to her true self, she had spent several nights thinking it over, planning it all out to the smallest detail. Really, she wouldn't even have to meet her past self to do it, just leave a letter or something…but in the end, she managed to snap herself out of those types of thoughts. Who knows just what effect stopping the Time War would have had on the rest of the Universe? Who is to say that it would have been better? If the Daleks didn't go to war with the Time Lords, then it would have been someone else, and despite all she had lost, she could never shove a war like that on to another planet. Besides, it was her and the Doctor's doing that the Time War even started, they had destroyed Skaro, after all. Or so they had thought.

Suddenly, a loud tapping sound broke through her thoughts and she spun on her heel towards the closed doors, raising an eyebrow. Curious, she walked over to them and opened the doors…

"Gadget Gadget," the robot called.

"What the…" she began before a wide smile spread across her face and she quickly crouched down so that she was eyelevel the robot, "Doctor, I assume that this is your idea of telling me you need a ride?" she raised her eyebrows again, quickly shaking her head when she realised he couldn't exactly verbally reply, "Ah…turn right for 'yes' and left for 'no'".

It turned to the right and she could just imagine the cheeky grin he must have been wearing.

"Gadget gadget".

"Right, then," she nodded and stood, stepping aside to let the robot roll inside before closing the door, and rushing up to the console. She had just moved to grab the controls before she paused, a stern look on her face as she turned back around to the robot, "Don't think this means that I'm happy, sweetheart, only that I would rather you not die before I can hit you".

The robot's head seemed to bob, "Gadget gadget".

She continued to eye it for a second longer before nodding and turning back to the controls, beginning her dance around it…

…

The TARDIS materialised in the middle of a snow covered street with Georgian style houses lining it, there was even a few old fashioned looking street lights. The Doctor opened the door and stepped out, looking quite proud of himself as he looked up at the night sky, snow still falling around them, while Adelaide, Yuri, Mia, and a frowning Hatter stepped out. Not even the real snow could make her smile right now.

They moved further down the street, the Doctor tucking his hands inside his coat pockets, having removed his spacesuit as soon as he had entered the time machine. He hardly seemed to even notice the stunned and still rather distressed looks on the three humans as they stared around the street. He glanced at Mia, who was breathing heavily, and smiled, "Isn't anyone going to thank me?" he asked, actually looking disappointed after a moment.

"I wouldn't go there if I was you, Doctor," the Hatter told him quietly, but there was a touch of sharpness in her voice, looking at the three humans with sad looks.

Gadget rolled out of the TARDIS behind them, turned on the spot, before suddenly shutting down.

"He's lost his signal," the Doctor remarked, nodding over to the robot, "Doesn't know where he is".

"That's my house," Adelaide breathed, staring at a house just a short distance away from them.

He glanced over at it and looked back to them, "Don't you get it?" he smiled slightly, but there was a note of frustration in his voice, "This is the twenty first of November 2059. It's the same day on Earth," he looked up as she snow continued to fall, grinning, "And it's snowing! I love snow," he turned on the spot and looked at the Hatter, "Isn't it brilliant? You said only earlier how much you love snow".

The Time Lady sighed and shook her head, giving him a look, "Yes, but right now there's not a lot that is going to improve my mood," she remarked, crossing her arms across her chest.

He frowned at her, looking confused by her reaction. Why wasn't she laughing and going on about how much she loved the snow? She always did that. Why wasn't she…happy, she was usually always happy and smiling? Couldn't she understand just how brilliant today was? No, that couldn't be it, because if anyone would understand it would be her. She always understood.

"What is that thing?" Mia gasped, pointing with a shaky hand over at the TARDIS, "It's…bigger…" she shook her head, struggling to talk, "I mean, it's bigger on the inside! Who the hell are you?" she demanded, staring horrified at the Doctor.

They watched as she looked from him to Adelaide and Yuri before she turned and ran off, Yuri moved to follow her, but he hesitated, glancing at the older woman.

"Look after her," Adelaide told him.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded and quickly run off after Mia.

Adelaide stared at the Doctor, stepping closer to him as he watched Yuri run off, still seeming oblivious to just what emotional trauma he had caused, "You saved us," she frowned at him.

"Just think, though," he grinned at her as the Hatter shook her head at him, her hands clenched angrily, "Your daughter, and your daughter's daughter, you can see them again," he raised his eyebrows, still grinning, "Family reunion".

She shook her head, "But I'm supposed to be dead".

"Not anymore," he replied simply, shaking his head with a smug look, the very same look that sent a cold shiver down the Hatter's spine, because that was the very same look that she recognised from the Valeyard, or even the Master.

"But..." she frowned at him, "Susie…" she closed her eyes, seeming to find it hard to talk, "…my Granddaughter. The person she's supposed to become…might never exist now".

"Nah! Captain Adelaide can inspire her face to face. Different details, but the story's the same".

"Sometimes it's the smallest detail that changes everything, Doctor," the Hatter murmured, shaking her head at him. She could already feel the time lines beginning to change and she felt ill all over again.

"You can't know that!" Adelaide shouted at him, looking angry, "And if my life changes, the whole of history could change. The future of the human race," she looked at him, horrified, "No one should have that much power".

"She's right," the Time Lady agreed, nodding along with everything the human woman had said, "How is it that she can see that and you can't, Doctor?" she frowned at him.

"Tough," the Doctor replied, his voice grim as he looked in-between both woman.

Adelaide slowly backed away from him, actually looking a little fearful, "You should have left us there," she told him.

He stared at her for a long moment before shrugging, "Adelaide, we've done this sort of thing before…"

The Hatter held up her hand to him, shaking her head, looking as if she was trying very hard to keep her temper in check, "Don't bring me into this," she said softly.

He frowned over at her, still looking confused before turning back to Adelaide, "In small ways, saved some little people…" the Time Lady made a furious sound, sending him a glare, "…but never someone as important as you," he grinned, "Oh, I'm good".

"Little people?" Adelaide exclaimed, outraged, "What, like Mia and Yuri?" she demanded furiously, "Who decides they're so unimportant? You?"

"For a long time now, I thought we…I…" he quickly corrected himself that the glare the Hatter threw him, "…was just a survivor, but I'm not," a sickening a grin spread across his face, "I'm the winner. That's who I am. The Time Lord Victorious".

The Hatter stepped forward and slapped him hard, right across the face, and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him before he even had time to react, "How dare you!" she shouted furiously, "How dare you! Don't you see now, what you've done?"

Adelaide took a step back, her eyes wide as she looked from the Time Lady to the Hatter, "Can't you stop him?" she asked her.

"I tried to stop him and he still believed that this was okay," she sighed heavily, practically shaking with anger as she still grasped the Doctor's shoulders, meeting his eyes, "And now it's up to you, solely you, to see what you've done, because that's the only way you will be stopped".

"Hatter…" the Doctor began to say, wincing as his cheek and shoulder's arched, but he quickly closed his mouth the look she gave him.

"This is wrong, Doctor," Adelaide glared at him, almost as furious as the Hatter, "I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is wrong".

"That's for me to decide," he told her, ignoring the Hatter's glare as she stepped away from him, shaking her head, looking disgusted, "Now, you'd better get home," he looked over to her house, "Oh, it's all locked up. You've been away," he shrugged, reaching for his sonic, "Still…that's easy," and he flashed it at the front door, causing it to swing open as he turned back to Adelaide, "All yours".

"Is there nothing you can't do?"

"Not any more".

Adelaide stared at him hard for a long moment before glancing at the Hatter, a look of grim understanding passed between them as the Time Lady opened her mouth, but she simply shook her head, turning away. The Doctor smiled as they watched her walk over to her house, waiting until the door closed behind her before he reached for the Hatter's hand.

"No!" she snapped at him, actually jumping away from him, "Don't touch me, not right now when I'm fighting the urge to strangle you!"

"What?" the Doctor blinked in surprise, staring at when suddenly…a gun shot rang out. They turned sharply back to Adelaide's house, the realisation of what she had down hitting him as he and Hatter fell back against the TARDIS doors, the horror of what he had done, what he had caused fully hitting him.

The time lines had changed and he had done it, Adelaide would be found in her own home, dead, Mia and Yuri would proclaim her as a hero who saved Earth, and Susie would still go on to follow in her Grandmother's footsteps. He gasped for breath, shaking as he looked over at the Hatter, who was clutching the side of her head, her eyes closed painfully. He had caused that, too, he had known all along that she was sensitive to changes in the time lines, far more so then he was, and yet, he had completely ignored it.

Tears began brimming in his eyes as he looked at her. He had hurt her, he had _hurt_ her, "I've gone too far…" he gasped.

The Hatter slowly opened her own watering eyes, lowering her hands from her head, "Yes," she nodded, her voice sounding strained, "And now you see," she finished grimly.

He looked around the side other TARDIS to see Ood Sigma standing there, watching, and he collapsed onto his knees, "Is this it?" he called, struggling not to burst completely into tears, "My death? Is it time?"

Sigma titled his head and vanished.

The Hatter forced herself to straighten and grabbed the Doctor's arm, forcefully pulling him inside the TARDIS, slamming the doors behind her. She couldn't even bring herself to try comforting him, not right now, not after everything he had done. She turned her back on him and moved up to the controls, pausing, her back still to him, "I'm going to my room," she told him, forcing herself to stay calm, "I can't look at you right now…" she took a deep breath, closing her eyes, "Once I calm down, I'll come and find you, and we'll talk".

And without even looking at him, she turned and walked off down the hall, because as much as she was torn between wanting to slap him again and wanting to hold on to him and tell him everything was going to be alright, she just couldn't. Not right now.

_**Oh, dear, that was a rather tricky chapter to write. Originally, the Hatter was going to be with the Doctor when he went back to the base, but it would have been out of character for her to completely break an oath or a promise like that. Plus, it also gave me a chance to show why the Hatter was letting him go back there, because she could see that as much power she might over him, he needed to see what affect changing the time lines would cause, otherwise he would just end up doing it again.**_

_**Anyway, on to a slightly brighter note, next chapter we have the Time Lords wedding. Again, originally it would have been Sarah Jane's wedding, but I just felt awful thinking of Sarah having to watch the Doctor and Hatter getting married after what happened to her. It's probably going to turn into one big reunion party with lots of Classic Who companions and friends thrown in. Tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest reviews:**_

_**Guest: **__**That certainly would have been a very dramatic twist, but I'm afraid that I really couldn't have seen the Hatter letting the Doctor continue down the path for that long. She would have locked him in a room on the TARDIS is she had to just to try and knock some sense into him. Thanks for the review :)**_


	7. Chapter 7 Wedding Bells, Part 1

_**I hadn't meant for this to be two parts, but it just became so massive :)**_

_**Wedding Bells, Part 1.**_

The Hatter was nervous, so terribly nervous that she had already thrown up earlier that morning for the first time in what must have been centuries. Even as a human she couldn't recall a time that she had been sick…or though, admittedly she still couldn't entirely remember the whole five years of her human life. She ran a hand through her still slightly damp hair as she paced the length of her bedroom, muttering to herself in Gallifreyan as her dressing gown billowed out behind her. She probably would have laughed if she had caught sight of herself, but in her current state laughter, even for her, was tricky.

"Hatter, calm down," Sarah Jane told her patiently, smiling at her soothingly from where she was sitting on the edge of the Time Lady's bed, watching her, while Lily Winters and Martha Jones sat on either side of her.

All three woman were already dressed in there bridesmaid dresses, Martha in a red taffeta V-neck dress that came down to just above her knees, matching red ballet flats, a small flower sitting on the waist of the dress, and another red flower clip sitting in her curled hair. Lily and Sarah's dress's where exactly the same, only Lily's dress was a dark pink and Sarah's was lilac.

The Time Lady hardly seemed to even hear her, though, and simply continued pacing.

Lily made an annoyed noise at the back of her throat, crossing her arms, "Hatter," she said sharply, standing. She had been her companion through two of her past regeneration and had become quite good at dealing with both of them, "If you don't calm down, then I'll hit you over the head with…" she looked back around the room before catching sight of one of the pillows on the bed, and grabbed it, holding it up threateningly, "…with this pillow".

She paused and half turned towards her, raising a slightly amused eyebrow, "Yes, because a pillow is just simply _terrifying_ compared to a Dalek," she shook her head, going straight back to pacing once more.

Sarah sighed and glanced at Martha, "I don't suppose you could give her anything to calm her nerves?" she asked quietly.

Martha thought for a moment, "Nothing that would work on a Time Lord," she eventually answered, shrugging, "But I might be able to find something in the infirmary".

"No," the Hatter stopped suddenly and turned to face them fully, look stern, "I'm not going to walk down the aisle half drugged out of my mind," she groaned and covered her face, shaking her head, "I don't even understand why I'm so nervous," she moved her hands away and looked at them, "I mean, It's not as if I've never been married…"

"Yes, but this is the first time you've married someone you actually love," Lily pointed out, giving her a small smile, "And this marriage has been coming for a long time. That's got to be a lot of pressure for everything to be perfect".

The Time Lady laughed, "Oh, I couldn't care less if today was 'perfect' or not," she replied, sounding highly amused by the very idea, "Besides, there's no such thing as 'perfect,' and even if there was, I wouldn't want it".

Martha rolled her eyes fondly, "Trust me, we know," she remarked, "I once watched you spend an entire afternoon resorting the TARDIS wardrobe just because you claimed it was giving you a headache from how all the hats seemed to be together, so you went through them and just jumbled them up with everything from scarfs to boots".

A blush spread across the Hatter's cheeks, "Yes…well, I can't help it if I find the idea of order tedious," she muttered, shifting were she stood, "It would drive my Mother mad. She loved order, you see".

And it was very true. Even as a child she had found the idea of order to be quite boring and would never understand how people could possibly put up with the idea of colour coding clothing or books, but surprisingly enough, neatness hadn't bothered her all that much. She supposed that, that must just have been something that had sunk in as a young child, and carried throughout the rest of her First regeneration. Her Second Self, on the other hand, hadn't cared in the slightest about being neat and was almost as bad as the Doctor was in the Academy.

"Today must be hard for you, Hatter," Sarah said softly, looking at her sadly, "On a day like today, you must be missing your family".

She paused, titling her head in consideration. She always missed her family, of course, she hadn't forgotten that they hadn't exactly been the closet, nor was she under any allusion to ever think that her family would have been here today, happily mingling with the human guests, but she did miss them. She wished that her children would have been here today, wondering just what their reaction to their Mother getting married for a second time would have been. She hoped that they would have been happy for her, after all, they had grown up with the Doctor being a part of their childhoods, and she couldn't forget Jenny, who's lose was still rather fresh and painful to her and the Doctor, but she wished she could have been her today. Her parents, on the other hand, would most certainly not have been happy, and she would have been surprised if either of them would have even turned up, same with her siblings, and she wouldn't have even bothered inviting her cousins.

"It's more sad then anything," the Time Lady eventually answered, shrugging as casually as she could, "My children are the most painful part of my family not being here, but aside from them, I honestly couldn't careless," she fixed a smile to her face as the three human woman gave her unconvinced looks, "Oh, don't look at me like that," she waggled a finger at them, "I know for a fact that my parents wouldn't have come, nor my siblings, and why would I want them to be here knowing how miserable it would make them?" she raised an eyebrow, shaking her head, "No, I wouldn't stoop to their level".

"But it's your wedding…" Martha stared at her in disbelief, unable to even imagine getting married without having her siblings or parents there with her.

She simply smiled, almost looking grimly amused, "Indeed," she nodded, "And to the Doctor of all people".

Lily cast her a curious look, "They really hated him that much?"

The Hatter laughed until she got to the point that she was forced to grasp the edge of her dressing table to stop herself from collapsing, "You have no idea," she giggled, trying with great difficulty to regain control, sounding breathless, "My Mother would even refuse to look at him if he was in the same room and my Father once threatened to disown me if I continued my friendship with him," she grinned broadly, a touch of cheekiness in her eyes, "Just imagine what would have happened had they known I would one day marry the man".

Sarah smiled slightly, "Oh, I dread to think," she commented, shaking her head.

"Well, what about the Doctor's family?" Martha asked, raising her eyebrows.

"His Father liked me because of my position, but I can't say that I was overly fond of him. He kicked the Doctor out when he ran away from Gallifrey. His Mother was quite a lovely woman, a little strict and cold, perhaps, but I got along well with her. She always made me feel welcome in her home, even after the Doctor left, while his brother, Irving Braxiatel was…" a slightly amused smile spread across her face, "An interesting man, not completely unlike his brother in his keen interest in seeing the Universe, but he wasn't the most sympathetic person I ever meet, he was a bit more sensible then the Doctor. We probably would have become great friends, if the Doctor hadn't seemed intent of keeping us apart".

Lily smirked, "Worried you would run off with his big brother, huh?"

The Hatter shook her head, looking somewhat amused by the suggestion, "Irving wasn't interested in marriage," she informed them, "He was far too busy with his Art collection and work".

Sarah laughed slightly, "Even after all these years I'm still learning about you and the Doctor," she remarked, sounding fond.

The Time Lady winked at her, "What's life without mystery?"

"Your life is already mysteries enough without adding you and the Doctor's secrets".

"Hatter," Martha began, sounding curious as she eyed the Time Lady thoughtfully, "I've always wondered, but what's the difference between a Time Lord wedding and a human one?"

"Ah," she smiled slowly at her, nodding in approval, "Good question, Martha. Well, I suppose it depends on if it's a second or first marriage. A Gallifreyan first marriage are very strict, the bride wears a white gown, usually with a long train, there hair is supposed to be lose, and as little to no jewellery is worn," she rolled her eyes, scoffing slightly, "It's supposed to be all about purity, during a ceremony that is only taking place because of power and position, two of the least pure things".

"And a second marriage?"

"That's less restricted," she replied, "Most brides wear whatever there Chapter colours are. For instance, I really ought to be wearing red and orange, since I was a member of the Prydonian Chapter, and this is my second wedding. Also, for a second marriages it doesn't matter if the bride wears jewellery or how they have their hair".

"What I want to know…" Lily cast the Time Lady a cheeky grin, a grin that made her suddenly feel very nervous, knowing very well what that grin could lead to, "Is what a Time Lord honeymoon is like?"

The Hatter groaned, blushing bright red as her old companion laughed at her reaction, "Oh, dear," she sighed heavily, wincing slightly, "Have we truly come to the point of discussing Time Lords honeymoons…or lack of".

Lily's eyes winded, "Time Lords don't have honeymoons?"

"For a Time Lord to have a honeymoon they would actually have to…" she trailed off, coughing uncomfortably as Martha started laughing, "Well…they would have to…"

Sarah, taking pity on the highly embarrassed Time Lady, cast Lily and Martha stern look, "Leave her be, girls," she told them, her voice light, "It's not an easy topic for Time Lords to talk about".

"Yes!" the Hatter nodded quickly, gesturing to Sarah, looking very, very grateful, "Thank you, Sarah…"

"Just wait until she's had something to drink tonight, and then ask her," Sarah continued over the top of her, a smile spreading across her face as she looked back at the Time Lady, who was left opening and closing her mouth in stunned silence, "She's quite talkative when she's a bit tipsy".

"What?" she stared at her before she pressed a hand to her chest, over her left heart, a look of the uttermost betrayal crossing her face, "I thought you were on me side!" she exclaimed.

She simply smiled innocently at her.

Martha and Lily laughed, both highly amused as the blonde human pattered the older woman on her back, looking as if Christmas had come early, "Oh, Sarah Jane, your my new best friend," she grinned at her, wiping a tears from her eyes, "But…" she cast a narrowed eyed look between the now grumbling Time Lady and Sarah, "…I would like to know how you came across this _very_ important piece of information?"

"Oh, around…" she replied, still smiling innocently.

The Hatter cast them glares, "Just my luck to have picked the three of you as my bridesmaids," she grumbled, shaking her head, "Hopefully the Doctor's having a better time with his groomsmen".

"Who did he pick?" Martha asked.

The Time Lady shot them a cheeky look, "Alas, I seemed to have forgotten…" she sighed mockingly, "I suppose you will just have to wait and see".

A knock sounded on the door and they looked at each other, before Martha walked forwards, opening the door an inch, "Hello?" she called.

"Don't worry, I'm not the groom," a woman's voice drifted through the door, "I thought I should get a few pictures of the bride getting ready for the photo album".

"Katie!" the Hatter grinned, running over to the door as Martha opened it to reveal a strawberry blonde woman, dressed in a pretty red dress, with a camera hanging around her neck standing in the doorway, beside a second, slightly younger looking woman with bright red hair, wearing a late Victorian style dress, "And Alice!" she added, sounding delighted as she threw her arms around both woman, practically strangling Katie with the strap of her own camera.

"Er…yeah, great to see you to, Hat," Katie coughed, her voice sounding strained, struggling to pull away, "But…you're…strangling me…"

"Oh!" the excited Time Lady quickly pulled back, giving her an apologetic look, "Sorry…" a frown crossed her face, "And I see you still insist on calling me by that nickname of yours?" she sighed.

"Not just mine, Michael was the one who came up with it. I just went along with it".

The Time Lady shook her head in mild exasperation, but there was a certain sense of fondness about the way she did so as she turned to the red head, "Alice, my dear," she grinned broadly at her, "How are you?"

Alice smiled at her, trying hard not to show just how shocked she was to see the Hatter with a completely different face from the one she had known. At least this one still had blonde hair, "Very well, Hatter," she replied, her eyes lighting up, "I never quite imagined that I would see you again, least of all that I would be attending your wedding".

"Ah…yes, I must apologise for not popping in more often to say hello…"

"It's quite alright," she shook her head, a sympathetic and concerned look crossing her face, "I understand perfectly well, your video message explained it all to me".

Due to the fact that there would be some who wouldn't have known about everything that happened with the Time War, the Hatter had come up with the idea to send a recording to those who didn't know explaining what happened, so as to avoid having to answer any questions about why they weren't getting married on Gallifrey, not to mention explaining to those who might not have known of regeneration just what they should expect. Luckily, for the Hatter companions, they had all known about regeneration, even those who hadn't witnessed it. The Hatter really could never understand why the Doctor wouldn't explain it to his companions, it certainly would cause them less distress.

The Hatter gave her a small smile, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving her a comforting squeeze as they moved back inside the room, closing the door behind them, "I don't suppose that you've meet before," she turned back to the bridesmaids, gesturing to Alice and Katie, who shook their heads, "Well, Alice and Katie, this is Sarah Jane Smith," Sarah smiled at them, "…Lily Winters," Lily waved, "…and Doctor Martha Jones," Martha nodded, a friendly smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you both," Sarah moved towards them, shaking their hands, "You must be one of the Hatter's very first companions," she remarked as she shook Alice's hand.

"Other than Max, yes," Alice agreed, nodding.

"Are you doing the photography?" Martha asked Katie curiously, gesturing the camera hanging around her neck.

Katie grinned, looking proud, "Yep, I'm the resident photographer…"

"Remember our agreement?" the Hatter cut in sternly, giving her a look.

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes, "I've already kept it. Promise!" she added quickly as the Time Lady still looked unconvinced, "That good looking Captain…"

"Jack," Martha, Sarah, and the Hatter said in unison, exchanging looks.

"That's him," she nodded, "Well, he's a bit of flirt, isn't he? The Doctor wasn't too impressed, though, he threatened to kick Jack out of his room if he was going to flirt with one of your companions".

The Hatter laughed, "Oh, I so dearly wish I had seen that".

"Yeah, well, he got me to take a selfie with him, and then he made the Doctor take one with me. I've actually got some pretty good pictures of the Doctor, considering…"

"Considering?"

She grinned at her, looking highly amused, "Considering he was almost having a panic attack when I arrived," she gave the Time Lady a wink, "I've never seen a man so nervous before, let alone the Doctor. Jack offered to give him a sedative if he didn't calm down, and that didn't go down to well, and in the end Jack distracted him by asking him all these questions about the honeymoon…"

The Hatter groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose as Lily, Martha, and Sarah exchanged looks, "No, no more talk about honeymoons!" she cast them all warning looks, "I don't think I can handle any more talk about it".

Alice cleared her throat, and the Time Lady felt relief spread through her, knowing that Alice wouldn't pretend to take pity on her like Sarah, "In that case, I believe that we ought to get you ready, Hatter," she told her, giving her a bright smile, her eyes twinkling, "After all, you are expected to walk down the aisle in…" she paused, checking her watch, the very same watch that the Hatter had gifted her for her birthday, hence the reason why it didn't look like something that would be found in the Victorian era, "…twenty minutes".

"Twenty minutes?" Martha's eyes widened as she quickly checked her own watch, "We haven't even got your hair or makeup done".

"Calm down, Martha," the Hatter stepped over to her, patting her shoulder comforting, "There's plenty of time yet".

She rolled her eyes, but still seemed calmer, "That's rich coming from a woman I almost had to sedate earlier," she remarked.

"I guess we had better get some pre-wedding photos now, then," Katie cut in, holding up the camera for them all to see, one eyebrow raised.

….

Once they had finished with getting the pictures taken, Katie disappeared to snap some pictures of the guest, while Sarah ducked out to check on Luke, who she had left in the TARDIS library with very strict instructions to not leave the room, no matter what, until someone came to collect him before the wedding was to start, leaving Alice, who was putting the finishing touches to the Hatter's hair, and Lily and Martha, who watched her work with mild interest.

"That's beautiful," Martha smiled slowly, meeting the Time Lady's eyes in the mirror of the dressing table.

"How on Earth did you manage to do that?" Lily blinked at Alice, who blushed slightly, "I can't even do my hair in a decent ponytail".

Alice smiled embarrassedly at the attention, "It's just practise," she replied, biting her bottom lip as she looked back to the Hatter, "Are you sure this how you want it, because I can make it neater…"

"I love it," the Hatter assured her, grinning broadly as she meet her eyes, causing the red head to smile brightly in return. Her hair was up in a twisted crown around her head, pulled into a low bun at the base of her neck, with a rustic messy touch to it, making it look somehow elegant and yet casual, all at once, "It's exactly how I wanted it," she continued brightly, "I spent lifetimes on Gallifrey forced to have every hair in place, and it's just not me".

Next, they moved on to makeup, which was simply red lipstick, Lily had convinced her that with her pale skin it would look brilliant, and smoky eyeshadow, and eyeliner.

"Here's the moment, Hatter," Martha grinned at her, looking almost more excited than the Time Lady felt, "I can't wait to see what dress you picked out".

The Hatter laughed and winked at her, quickly standing and moving over to her wardrobe, opening it up, and pulling out a white dress bag. She placed it on the top of the bed as the girls gathered around, watching as she pulled the zip down.

The dress was an ivory satin and tulle net petticoat over the skirt, it wasn't a very long dress, only reaching mid-knee length and flaring out from the waist, were a white silk ribbon was sitting just a little off to the side of the front of the dress, and sheer ruched straps over a sweetheart neckline. As the Time Lady pulled the dress out of the bag, holding it up for them to see better, they noticed the tiny, dome buttons that ran halfway down the back of the dress.

"As you can see, I'm going to need a bit of help doing the back up," the Hatter remarked, glancing at the other woman with an eyebrow raised.

Lily whistled, "What are you trying to do, Hatter?" she shook her head, sounding amused and yet sympathetic at the same time, "Kill the Doctor by forcing him to have to undo every one of these tiny buttons?" the Time Lady turned bright red, her eyes widening slightly, "I mean, the mans had to wait how many centuries, and now you're going to tease him even more?"

Martha smirked suggestively, taking the Time Lady completely by surprise. She really needed to learn not to let her companions and the Doctor's mix, "Who said he would bother undoing them?" she enquired.

"What, you think he's just going to rip it off…?"

"Okay!" the Hatter called loudly, holding up her hands, her face an even bright shade of red than ever before as Alice looked in-between Lily and Martha, seeming about to say something, "That's quite enough," she took a deep, calming breath, stepping over towards her bathroom door, "Now, I'm going to get changed, so please…get all of this out of your system, since I really don't wish to walk down the aisle with my face burning brighter than the Earth Sun".

And with that, she opened and door, stepping inside. A minute of two past before she stepped back out, the front of her wedding dress bagging around her frame, and turned her back with a questioning look over her shoulder.

"I'll do it," Martha offered, shrugging as she moved forward to help do the buttons, "Alice did your hair, Lily helped with your makeup, it's about time I do something useful".

"What's Sarah's job going to be, then?" the Time Lady asked jokingly.

Lily grinned, "She can help me get the marital bedroom ready for you and the Doc".

"I thought I told you to get that out of your system?" she shot her a stern glare over her shoulder.

She shrugged, not seeming bothered by the Time Lady's glare, "Alright, fine," she sighed, holding up a surrounding hand after a moment, "But…just one last question?"

There was a long pause before the Hatter exhaled deeply, saying wearily, "Go on".

"Which is more romantic, fairy lights or candles?"

"With our luck, probably safer with fairy lights," the Time Lady replied, shaking her head.

Soon enough, Martha had finished with the buttons, the dress now sitting tightly around the Hatter's waist and flowing loosely down to her knees the rest of the way. She slipped on her white satin covered, small heeled, jewelled shoes on, a pair of drop earrings, her Gallifreyan pendant already hanging around her neck, proudly on display, which only left her hat. Donna had first suggested a vail, but the Time Lady had known right from the start that a vail would never do for her, it would always be a hat, and she found the perfect one. It was TARDIS blue fascinator with a fabric rose sitting on top of it, and with care, she slipped the hat on, sitting it on a slight angle, before smiling slowly as she looked at her reflection.

A knock sounded on the door and Sarah's head popped around the edge a second later, "Are we ready?" she asked, "Because I've just seen the Doctor head through the garden's doors," a smile spread across her face as the Hatter stood, giving her full view of her, "Oh, Hatter, you look beautiful," she told her sincerely.

"As do you," the Hatter replied, casting Lily, Martha, and Alice a bright, broad smile, "_All_ of you," she added, glancing back to Sarah, "How's Luke? Still in the one spot?"

Sarah laughed, "I don't think he would have left the library even if it was full of Daleks," she commented, shaking her head fondly, "He was glued to the book he was reading, I very nearly had to drag him out".

"I really should be getting a seat myself," Alice spoke up, moving towards the door, "Max told me he would get our seats, but you know what he's like when he starts talking," she smiled slightly as she slipped past the door, disappearing from sight.

"Better get the bouquets," Martha remarked, stepping over to one of the bedside tables were four sets of bouquets were sitting made of dark blue irises, passing one each to Lily and Sarah, before grabbing a slightly large one and handing it to the Hatter, keeping one for herself.

"Why irises, Hatter?" Lily asked curiously as she glanced over to her, taking a quick sniff from her bouquet.

"There's quite a bit of meaning behind irises," the Time Lady told her, a smile spreading across her face as she looked down at the bunch of flowers in her hands, "Did you know that there name is actually Greek for 'rainbow?'"

"Oh, I get it," Martha nodded, a wide smile spreading across her face as she made the connection, "This regeneration really loves rainbows, doesn't it?"

"You have no idea," she laughed, shaking her head, "Anyway, irises also symbolise faith, wisdom, peace of mind, friendship, and hope. They can also symbolise admiration and courage".

"Ah," Sarah cast her a small look, "I see that you put quite a bit of thought into this".

She shrugged, but there was a sly glimmer in her eyes.

A knock sounded on the door and Sarah, being closes, opened it, "Brigadier!" she exclaimed in delight, pulling the door open wider to reveal the Brig standing in the doorway, leaning slightly on a cane, wearing a black suit with a TARDIS blue waistcoat and silver tie, an iris boutonniere clipped to his lapel, and a black top hat with a TARDIS blue ribbon tied around it.

"Sarah Jane," the Brig greeted, just as happily as they exchanged a quick hug, before pulling back, his eyes moving around the room, nodding to Martha, before settling on the Hatter, "Are we all ready?"

"Wait…is this the mysterious person who is going to walk you down the aisle, Hatter?" Lily turned to her, giving her a narrow eyed look.

The Hatter grinned back at her, "Who better?" she replied, giving her a wink before focusing her attention the Brig, "I guess we ought to getting into our positions".

Martha, Lily, and Sarah nodded and stepped outside the door, making their way down the hallway, coming to a stop outside the closed garden doors were the wedding ceremony was being held. The reception was going to be taking place in a hall on Earth, due to the fact that the Time Lords had wanted to have at least something related to the main part of wedding held on Earth. The three woman moved into their correct order, Lily first, then Martha, and lastly, due to fact she was the maid of honour, Sarah.

The Hatter grasped the Brig's forearm as they followed at a slightly slower pace, being sure to keep out of sight of the door so that when it did open, no one could actually see them, "Thank you, Alistair," she whispered to him, shooting him a smile, "You have no idea how grateful I am that you agreed to walk me down the aisle".

"How could I possibly have said no to a request like that?" the Brig glanced at her, returning the smile, "No, if I learnt anything from you and the Doctor, it was that you will always get what you want no matter what I say".

She laughed, "Oh, you make us sound like spoiled children".

"No, just very strong willed and determined Time Lords. I feel sorry for anyone who tries to go against you both, because it's certainly no easy feat".

"Even if that person was a certain insane, bearded idiot, Time Lord?"

"Ah," he grimaced slightly, patting her arm, "Well, he's a…special case".

"Indeed he is," the Hatter nodded, trying to shack any and all thoughts of the Master out of her head, just as the garden doors opened, the sound of piano music began, and Lily stepped inside, "How are you, Alistair?" she asked, sounding concerned, "Health wise, I mean".

The Brig chuckled slightly, shaking his head almost fondly as Martha followed after Lily. Typical Hatter, asking him about his health when she's about to get married, "I'm healthier then I've ever been," he told her, pausing, "I'm just getting old, not everyone can stay as young in body as sprite, Hatter".

She continued to look at him, seeming to be unconvinced, but she gave him a small smile after a moment, "Don't be silly, Alistair, you'll out live us all," she nudged his side, wishing with both hearts that it would be true as it was Sarah's turn. She couldn't stand the thought of her human friends dying, "Even the Doctor and I".

He shook his head, casting her a knowing look before raising his eyebrows, "Ready?" he questioned, nodding to the doors.

The Time Lady took a deep breath and a smile spread across her face, "Always".

And with that, they walked into view of the doorway. Everyone's head towards them as they began to make their way slowly down the garden path, leading straight ahead to where an arch was, covered in flowers, and with the Doctor, in a similar suit to the Brig and hat, along with Jack, also in a similar suit, both turning and watching their approach. Jack leaned towards the Doctor, whispering something to him, and a wide grin spread across the Doctor's face, his eyes fixed on the Hatter.

Katie's camera clicked loudly over the music and the Hatter's smile was so wide that it was almost painful as she sent her a wink. The further they walked, the more she began to notice the people watching in the audience. She spotted Max and Alice sitting close to the front, holding hands, Tegan Jovanka and Nyssa were in the row behind them, Luke Smith was in the front left row, Jack's team, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones were sitting further towards the back, close to a blonde woman and an Asian young man, both of who she didn't recognise, while further in front of them sat a man and woman, who she did recognise, but from the Doctor's memories, Ian and Barbara Chesterton. John Benton, looking older then the last time they had meet, sat close to them, beside Liz Shaw, Michael Andrew and Tommy Connolly were close to the front, while Ace and Mel Bush were in a row behind them, and Mickey Smith was close to them.

As they neared the arch, the three bridesmaids stepped off to the side as the Hatter and the Brig came to a stop in front of the Doctor and Jack, the Time Lady caught to the Doctor's eye, and he mouthed, 'stunning,' to her, almost causing her to burst out laughing, but she managed to stop herself as the Brig took her by surprise, kissing her cheek, before he let go of her arm, and stepped over to the front row were a spare seat was waiting for him.

The Hatter smiled after him before stepping forward, coming to stand directly in front of the Doctor, "You really ought to wear a hat more often, sweetheart," she whispered to him from the corner of her mouth, her finger's twitching to take his hand.

"And you really need to wear white more often," the Doctor murmured back, his eyes twinkling excitedly, still fixed on her, "It suits you".

Jack cleared his throat, stepping forward, since he was acting as both the best man and the officiant, he had quite a big role to play throughout the day, "Ladies and gentlemen," he began, looking out over the rest of the audience, "We are here today to witness the Uniting of the Doctor and the Hatter. Please, be seated," everyone took their seats, save for Katie, who was busy taking pictures. He sent the Time Lady a wink as he reached inside his suit pocket, withdrawing a TARDIS blue silk ribbon with Gallifreyan symbols written across it in silver thread, "Do you, Dame Hatter…" the Time Lady bit back a groan, "…of the House Blyledge consent to this ceremony?"

"I consent," she agreed, taking one end of the ribbon, her eyes fixed on the Doctor's.

He turned to the Doctor, "And do you, Lord Doctor of the House of Lungbarrow consent to this ceremony?"

"I consent," the Doctor replied, taking the other end of the ribbon, exchanging grins with the Time Lady, both almost unable to contain themselves.

"And now, you both know what part this is," Jack raised his eyebrows at them, giving them a smile.

Both Time Lords took deep breaths, seeming to be preparing themselves, because once they told each other their names, there _true_ names, there was no going back. Not that they ever would want to, of course, but it was still a rather daunting experience. They meet each other's eyes, seeming to be exchanging an understanding look between them, before they leant forward, and whispered there true names to each other.

"Now, for those of you who didn't go through a lengthy Time Lord wedding ceremony course from these two," Jack called to the rest of the room as the Time Lords pulled back slightly, staring at each other, a few people in the audience chuckled, "Technically, the ceremony is considered to be completed once the happy couple tell each other there true names, but for this wedding, the Doctor and Hatter have insisted on saying a few vowels," he looked in-between the Time Lords, his eyes coming to rest on the Doctor, "Doctor, would you like to go first?"

The Doctor seemed to struggle for a moment before he cleared his throat, "I still remember the first moment I knew there was something so…special and brilliant to me about you," he finally began, his voice actually trembling slightly with emotion, "It was my fiftieth birthday, we were just kids, and you had somehow managed to convince the Rani and the Master to help throw a miniature birthday party in my room," he laughed, just thinking of the memory as the Time Lady grinned broadly in return, "It was the most brilliant thing anyone had done for me," he continued, "And the whole party latest until the early morning. I remember it so vividly, it was just the two of us by the end, and the sun had just began to rise, you were standing the doorway when you hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, and just in that moment, a ray of light lit up your face," he smiled gently, "And it just hit me…how truly beautiful you are. You've always been beautiful to me, but in the moment, it just hit me and it was as if someone had turned on a light switch, and I knew that you would never just be a friend, you would always be something so much bigger than just that".

The Hatter opened and closed her mouth, her eyes watering slightly, "Oh, dear," she laughed, shaking her head at herself, "I said I wouldn't start crying, and then you just had to go and be a complete sweetheart," the audience laughed as the Doctor grinned, his own eyes looking a little wetter than normal. She cleared her throat, trying to regain some composer, "Who would have ever thought that such a simple thing as dropping a book on a person's head would lead to all of this," she smiled broadly, "I certainly never did, but I'm definitely am glad. Meeting you changed my entire life, I went from a somewhat naive, quiet, lonely little girl to…well, this," she laughed, nodding down to herself, "I would never have gained the courage to stand up to my parents, or runaway from Gallifrey, or…so many other thing's had it not been for you. You helped to teach me so much about myself, to not ever be afraid of being myself, you gave me a chance to actually live freely, and you have no idea how much I love you just because of that. You say I helped to change you, well, I say you had just as big impact upon my life, and still do to this day. Now, I could go on and on about how special you are to me, but I think I would rather be able to properly end this ceremony so that I can call you my husband," she finished with a pointed look to Jack.

Jack laughed along with the rest of the room, holding up his hands in surrounded, "Exchange the rings," he instructed them.

K-9, who had been hiding off to the side of the arch, rolled towards them with a small jewellery box sitting on his back, "Master, mistress," he greeted the Time Lords, the Hatter laughed in delight at seeing him.

"Good, dog," the Doctor grinned at him, patting his head as he grabbed the box, opening the lid, and past a silver wedding band to the Hatter, before slipping a silver wedding band with tiny diamonds around the band onto her ring finger as she slipped the first ring onto his finger, keeping hold of each other's hands.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife!" Jack announced as they grinned broadly, "You may kiss the bride".

Hardly needing to be told the first time, the Hatter wrapped her arms around the Doctor's neck, and they kissed deeply as the rest of the room clapped and cheered, Jack, Lily, and surprisingly, Ace, whistling.

_**Well, as I said originally this was meant to be only one part, but I underestimated just how huge the wedding party actually would be, so we'll be getting that chapter probably in the middle of the week, but I will leave you with this tiny taste:**_

"_**Okay," the Hatter sighed heavily, wincing slightly, "I think you might be right. This might have been a mistake".**_

_**I'll leave you to make of that what you will, but I will say it's something to do with Jack. Anyway, next chapter is full of dancing, Hatter/Luke bonding, a surprise visitor, and catching up with old friends. Links to the Hatter and the bridesmaid's dresses are on my profile, plus on my Tumblr.**_

_**I hope you liked it, tell me what you thought, please review :)**_


	8. Chapter 8 Wedding Bells, Part 2

_**Wedding Bells, Part 2.**_

The hall that they had chosen really couldn't have turned out any better, numerous round tables had been set up around where a large dance floor was in the middle of the room, with still plenty of room in the rest of the room for people to walk around and mingle. The theme for the wedding had been all about TARDIS blue and silver, so the tables were decorated with blue table clothes, with silver chairs, fairy lights were draped all around the room from the ceiling that had been covered in navy material, making the ceiling almost look like space, and behind the head table at the front of the room, a slideshow had been set up featuring pictures of the Doctor and the Hatter throughout their regenerations, mainly from their Second selves and up, but one of two First Doctor pictures had found themselves in amongst the mix, due to the Hatter.

Dinner was served, quickly followed the Time Lady's favourite part, the desert that featured ice cream with every topping and jelly babies, while the Doctor had chosen something a little less insane and gone with a caramel banana tart. They had argued about just what desert to have when they had been planning the wedding, until Donna, being the voice of reason for once, pointed out that they could have more than one desert. They both agreed that they wouldn't mention that little moment of stupidity to anyone after that, less someone get any ideas on actually how to take over the Universe and succeed.

Soon enough, they had finished eating, and Jack stood, tapping his champagne glass to gain the rest of the room's attention. Everyone fell silent almost at once, their attention fixed on the best man, as the Time Lords exchanged slightly anxious looks as to just what was going to be said, because knowing him, it was going to be something…interesting.

"Oh, I knew this was a mistake to ask Jack to be the best man," the Doctor whispered in the Hatter's ear, clutching her hand, "Why did I ever let you talk me into it?"

"Aside from the fact that you love me?" she whispered back with a cheeky smile, "I have no idea, sweetheart," he shot her a look and she rolled her eyes, "Stop looking at me like that, it's only a speech, for goodness sake".

"This is Jack we're talking about".

She titled her head, "True…"

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Jack called to the room, grinning broadly. The Time Lady had a feeling that he might have had a little more to drink then she had first thought, "Let me tell you about how I meet the Doctor and Hatter…"

"Okay," the Hatter sighed heavily, wincing slightly, "I think you might be right. This might have been a mistake".

"…it all started in World War II," Jack continued, "Where I meet this guy," he pointed at the Doctor, who seemed to be trying to disappear under the table, until the Hatter stood on his foot, shooting him a stern look as he winced and quickly straightened, "He looked a bit different then, for one thing, he was Northern, so you automatically knew not to mess with him," a few people chuckled, "And secondly, he had the whole leather jacket going for him, so he looked tough. Too bad he didn't have this one's great hair, you're a lucky woman, Hatter".

The Hatter blushed and smiled as more people chuckled, and the Doctor subconsciously ran a hand through his hair, muttering something about Northern accents and leather jackets.

"But he was okay," he smiled, looking around the room, "Pretty good kisser, too. Again, lucky woman," he pointed at the Hatter once more, who blushed even deeper, but nothing compared to the Doctor's blush as he seemed to try hiding himself again, and the Time Lady, taking pity, let him, "And then imagine my surprise when I meet him again, and he's not only regenerated, but he's got a girlfriend, too".

Lily wolf-whistled from down the opposite end of the head table, and once more the Hatter suspected that she had drunk quite a bit more champagne then she had thought…but then again, that might just have been Lily.

Jack winked at her.

"Stop it," the Doctor muttered half-heartedly, his voice slightly muffled by the table.

The Hatter raised her eyebrows, glancing down at him, "How did you see him wink?" she asked him, sounding almost impressed.

"It's Jack," was the response. Ah, so true.

"But in all seriousness, I was surprised," Jack went on with his speech, taking a quick sip from his glass as he did so, "And even more so to find the Hatter hadn't been kidnapped or drugged," more people laughed, "She looked different, too," he remarked, glancing at her, and the Time Lady quickly grabbed the Doctor's shoulder, holding it tightly as she felt him tense, "She had red hair and bright green eyes, and long, _long_ legs…"

"Harkness!" the Doctor, managing to break free of the Hatter, straightened so fast that she was quite certain she heard his back crack, giving Jack a warning glare, "That's my wife you are talking about".

"Right, sorry, Doctor," he nodded, actually looking a little sheepish as he sat his champagne glass down, Martha quickly pushed it out of easy reach, "Anyway, she looked…different, and I remembering thinking, 'the Doctor looks so happy.' He looked like a little puppy dog every time he looked at her, which made a change from Leather Jacket, and it was…nice," he smiled, and someone 'aww' from the crowed, "And the Hatter, anyone who knows the first thing about her will know how kind and compassionate she is, I've been on the receiving end of it myself," he looked over at the Hatter, exchanging an understanding look that he was talking about The-Year-That-Never-Was, "Which is why I could go on and make dirty jokes, believe me, I've got them all," he turned back to the front as a few people chuckled, "But I'm not going to," the Time Lords exchanged surprised looks, as did many others, not least of all Gwen and Ianto, who seemed shocked, "Because I owe them more than that," he went to grab his glass, shrugging when he found it missing, "I would raise my glass but…" he shook his head, looking to the Time Lords, "Everyone, raise your glasses in toast to the Doctor and the Hatter, congelation's, you two. You deserve it".

Everyone raised their glasses and a murmur of 'Doctor and Hatter' rang through the room, before they took a sip. The Time Lords exchanged still slightly surprised looks as the Hatter stood, and hugged Jack, "Thank you," she whispered to him, giving him a smile.

"Anytime," he replied as they pulled apart and he took his seat again.

The Hatter cleared her throat and turned to the front, everyone fell silent again, "Ah…well, I wasn't quite expecting to make a speech," she smiled around at them all as she noticed a few, mostly her companions, exchanging knowing looks, "But it wouldn't have been a proper Time Lord wedding without at least two speeches," the Doctor laughed, nodding in agreement, "I really just want to thank everyone for coming here and celebrating with us, it means more to us then you could possibly imagine," she took the Doctor's hand, still standing, "I also want to take a moment to honour those who couldn't be here for so many reasons, one amongst them who played a very big role in today, a role that…" she took a deep breath, trying to force back tears, "…that she can't even remember. Thank you, Donna Noble, for being the voice of reason more times than the Doctor and I would like to admit, for helping me to pick out this beautiful dress, and for just simply being a dear friend".

Those who knew Donna silently rose there glasses and toasted her, Martha blinking back tears as Sarah, who was sitting beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, Martha," the Hatter gave her a sad smile, "Don't cry, Donna's still alive and well".

"I know," Martha nodded, giving her an apologetic, watery smile, "Sorry".

"Believe me, I understand perfectly," the Time Lady assured her, giving her a comforting look before turning back to the front, "You know, today Sarah Jane asked me if I missed my family, and while I do, I've also come to find a family here," she told the room, smiling broadly as she looked at each person, "If I've learnt anything, it's that family is more than blood or DNA, it runs deeper than that. And each and every one of you…yes, even you, Torchwood team," she pointed a firm finger over to Gwen and Ianto, giving them looks, "Are a part of my family, a part of our family," she smiled at the Doctor, who grinned back at her, "So…I would like to toast to that," she grabbed her own glass, filled with sparkling water, and held it up, "Family!"

"Family!" was chorused around the room as everyone toasted again.

"Now, I believe it's time for the bride and groom's first dance as husband and wife!" Jack called once the toast was over, casting the Time Lords grins, and as if on cue, slow music began playing and a spotlight appeared on the dance floor.

The Doctor laughed and jumped to his feet, grabbing the Time Lady's hand and pressing a tender kiss to the top of it, "Will you dance with me, wife?" he asked, teasingly.

The Hatter grinned back at him, "Only if you think you can keep up, husband," she replied in the same tone, a cheeky smile spreading across her face.

"Challenge accepted," he smirked, leading her around the table and onto the dance floor as the rest of the guests began to move to stand around the sides to see for themselves. They moved into the middle of it, the Time Lady placing her hands on the Doctor's right shoulder as he grasped her other hand, placing his own hand on the small of her back, there chest practically touching as they began to waltz, both moving gracefully, having had centuries of practice dancing together, they knew exactly how each other moved, able to match it perfectly.

The Hatter's dress swirled around her as she was twirled, laughing in delight as he suddenly twirled her back to him, and dipped her so low that she could feel the floor brush the back of her still styled hair before being pulled back up into his embrace, neither of them even noticing that they weren't the only ones on the dance floor anymore as numerous couples joined them. Jack and Ianto were dancing a short distance away from them, along with Max and Alice, and it seemed that Lily had somehow managed to convince Luke, who looked completely out of his comfort zone, into dancing with her.

"So…Katie told me that you were quite nervous this morning," the Hatter remarked quietly after a moment simply dancing together, titling her head at him.

"She told you?" he sighed, "I thought she might, she was your companion, after all".

"There's no reason to look so worried, sweetheart, I was hardly better. In fact, I dare say I was worse".

He blinked in surprise and raised his eyebrows, "You were nervous?"

"Of course," the Hatter almost laughed at him, shaking her head in amusement, "I was about to get married, why wouldn't I be?"

"In what way were you worse?"

She rolled her eyes, knowing he was just trying to distract her, "I was so nervous, I was physically ill," he gave her a concerned look and she shook her head, "I'm fine now, sweetheart, or though I think I might have gone off toast a bit".

The Doctor seemed to struggle not to laugh, settling a smile, "Well, I'm sure you'll be able to see the worn piece of carpet in my…our bedroom," he quickly corrected himself, his eyes twinkling with the thought of finally sharing a bedroom with the Hatter, let alone a bed, too. There was still a few things of the Time Lady's that needed to be moved into their room, but that could easily be done.

She smiled slowly, "I'll have to keep my eye out for it, then".

He cast a look at her from the corner of his eye, "I was hoping that there would be something else to distract you from the carpet," he commented, his face perfectly innocently, but the look in his eyes anything but.

"Oh, hush you," she laughed, blushing as she caught his meaning, "Just twirl me before the song changes".

….

"Mickey!" the Hatter grinned in delight as she sidled up to the young man, who was sitting at one of the tables, watching the other's dancing to a much faster, pop song.

"Hey, Hatter," Mickey smiled at her as she took a seat beside him, "Where's the Doctor?"

She laughed and pointed over to where the Doctor was being forced to dance with a quite tipsy Lily. Well, perhaps dance wasn't quite the right word, more like he was wiggling around like an eel being electrocuted, and Lily, in her tipsy state was hardly any better as she waved her arms around, reminding the Time Lady of Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter, "I've got Katie recording it," she informed Mickey through giggles, pointing over to where Katie was standing close by the amusing couple, "I can't wait to show it to him".

Mickey laughed and shook his head, "How much has the Doctor had to drink?"

"Nothing," she smirked wickedly, "That's the best thing. He hasn't had a drop of alcohol all day. That's just him dancing to twenty first century music. Brilliant with a partner, dead awful on his own".

"Oh, man, that is gold!" he grinned broadly, "How come you never said anything? You always tease him".

A blush creeped across the Time Lady's face as she avoided his eyes, "Oh, well, I'm not much a solo dancer either," she muttered, trying very hard not to think about her own awful dancing as she quickly searched for something to distract him, "Tell me, why are you sitting here when you could be dancing with Martha?" she raised her eyebrows, nodding over to Martha was dancing with Jack, Ianto, and Gwen.

Mickey immediately shrugged and shifted in his chair, "Not much of a dancer," he replied.

"If the Doctor can get up there and wiggle around like a dying eel, then anyone can," she assured him, sounding highly amused, nudging his side, "Now, tell me the real reason," he went to argue but she gave him a stern look, "Mickey, its bad luck to fight with a bride".

"I've never heard that".

"Yeah, well, it's Gallifreyan," she lied, waving it off, "Mickey, tell me the truth," she said sternly.

Mickey sighed heavily, "You won't say anything to Martha, right?" he asked carefully.

"This is me you're talking to, you know I would never break your trust".

"Well…I love her, and we've been dating for a while now," he winced slightly actually saying it, "But since Rose…well, it's not easy taking the next step in a relationship with a girl knowing she might run off with some alien".

The Hatter reached across and grasped his hand, giving him a comforting look, "Martha's not going to run off like Rose did," she told him gently, "Rose was so young and awed by what she had witnessed, Martha's already been out there and seen it, and still she chose to stay on Earth to be with her family. Rose never did that, her love for the Doctor overpowered her, which isn't a crime, but it's also not exactly healthy, either. Martha, she's happy here on Earth, otherwise she would be traveling with myself and the Doctor again," she gave him a small smile, "Oh, and a word of advice, never compare two woman, especially when one is your ex".

Mickey looked at her for a long moment before glancing over to Martha, who was still dancing with the Torchwood team, "Basically, you're telling me to just go for it, and not worry about history repeating itself?"

"Exactly," she nodded and stood, patting his shoulder, "Oh, and don't you dare do what the Doctor did and not do something soon, otherwise I shall be forced to resort to my own means," and with that, she strolled off.

…

After another round of slow dancing with the Doctor, having saved him from Lily, managing to gently convince the poor, tipsy woman to perhaps go and have a little lie down, the Hatter, now walking around barefoot since she had kicked her heels off somewhere, almost ran into Luke, who seemed to be trying to avoid being asked to dance with anyone else.

"Luke!" she smiled broadly at him, feeling a wave of sympathy for the teenager, who was obviously not in his comfort zone, "Where's your Mum?" she asked.

"Oh, she's over there," he pointed to were Sarah was laughing with Michael, Tommy, and Tegan about something.

"Ah," the Time Lady nodded in understanding, turning back to him, and giving him a comforting smile, "You know, Luke, your Mother has told me quite a bit about you, and she mentioned that you are highly intelligent," she gave him an understanding look, "It must be hard being ahead of everyone at school. I remember how boring the first few years at the Academy were for me since my parents had me tutored in everything that I would learn within the first five years," she sighed, shaking her head.

"Why?" Luke asked curiously.

"Oh, my parents were mad," she replied, shrugging before giving him a small smile when he didn't seem to catch on to the joke, "Only joking…well, kind of. Anyway, my parents were rather education control freaks, I think they thought they could teach me better than the Academy could, but of course they would never have admitted to such a thing. Not very Time Lord like for them to do so," she rolled her eyes before fixing Luke with a bright smile, "But, I've gotten rather side tracked. Your Mother mentioned that you enjoyed the TARDIS library?"

His eyes seemed too lit up as she mentioned the library, "It's amazing," he smiled broadly, looking exited for the first time that night.

"Yes, it is quite brilliant," the Hatter nodded in agreement, "It's one of my favourite rooms," she raised her eyebrows at him, glancing around as if checking to make sure no one else was around before leaning closer as if to tell a big secret, "I have a gift for you".

Luke frowned, looking confused, "But why would you give me a gift?"

"Because a brilliant mind needs to be nourished if it's ever going to grow," she informed him happily, "And what better way than with books? Believe me, the twenty first century is among my favourite years, but it's not exactly the greatest for someone with a mind like yours, which is why I am going to give you a book," she gave him a stern look, pressing a finger to her lips, "But you mustn't show it to anyone, you have to keep it somewhere very safe and away from others, because this book is from the future. The fifty first century to be exit, so it's full of thing's that would be very damaging to the human race's time lines," she raised her eyebrows, "Your Mother already knows and she's assured me that I can trust you, but I need you to promise me that you will be very, very careful. Understood?" she asked.

"Yes, I promise," he nodded quickly, looking sincere.

The Time Lady continued to eye him for a moment, just wanting to stress just how important it was to keep the book a secret, because even though she trusted Sarah and Luke, she also knew how teenagers could be, "Alright, then," she suddenly grinned broadly, taking him mildly by surprise, "It's in the console room of the TARDIS, I'll let you in," and with that, she walked off, smiling as she heard Luke's footsteps right behind her, "So, tell me, Luke, about your friends," she glanced at him after a moment as they stepped out into a hallway leading to the outside were the TARDIS was parked under a tree.

"Maria Jackson used to live across the street, but she moved to America," he explained, sounding sad as he spoke of her.

The Hatter eyed him closely, giving him an understanding look, "You miss her," he nodded and she smiled, "Let me guess…first friend?" she raised her eyebrows.

Luke blinked in surprise, "How did you know?"

"Because I know what it's like to say goodbye to your first friend," she replied, smiling, "Only, I ended up marrying mine today, something tells me that's not going to be the case here," she cast him a knowing look and a wink.

"I don't…"

"Any other friends?"

"Ah…Clyde Langer," he continued, "He tried to teach me to skateboard".

The Hatter laughed, "And let me guess, you failed miserably?"

Luke smiled and nodded, "Did you do the same thing?" he asked, noticing a pattern that seemed to be forming.

"Similar," she nodded, "Only mine was ice skating, and the Doctor wasn't there to witness just how awful I was at it, thankfully. I haven't tried skateboarding, but I think I had best stay clear of it," she grinned across at him, "Got any other friends?"

"Rani Chandra, she moved into Maria's old house. She wants to be a journalist".

The Hatter paused as she reached to open the door leading outside, titling her head as she looked sharply back at him, "Rani you say…" she said slowly, "She hasn't had any funny dreams has she? What about an old fob watch with odd circles engraved in the case?"

Luke gave her an odd look, "No," he frowned, looking worried, "Is that bad?"

"No, it's fine," she pattered his shoulder reassuringly, giving him a smile, "It's just that I knew someone a while ago who called herself 'the Rani,' but I expect it's not that unusual".

She opened the door and stepped out, completely ignoring the wet grass on her bare feet she walked over to the TARDIS doors, quickly grabbing her key from a tiny pocket that she had stitched into the dress, Donna's advice, again, and unlocked the door. She moved around the console and to the chair, grabbing a bag and held it out to Luke.

"Here you go," she smiled at him as he took it, holding the bag as if it was something precious, "You can read it in the library if you want, or you can use my study," she shrugged, "Just don't mind all the scraps of paper and the rest of the mess. Once I get thinking, tidiness disappears completely".

"You have your own study?" he looked at her in interest.

"Yep, I don't use it much, to be honest, it's mainly the room that I go to when I need to do lots of thinking and I don't need to worry about how much mess I make, unlike my old bedroom or the library. Anyway, it's down the hall, the fourth door on the left, while the Library…oh, sorry, I almost forgot you have eidetic memory. You already know where it is".

She smiled at him, watching as he disappeared down the hallway before patting the console, "Make sure he doesn't get up to much trouble, old girl," she told her, a hint of fondness in her voice, "With Sarah as his Mother, I dread to think".

The console hummed and she nodded, giving the console one last pat before she moved back towards the doors, stepping outside, closing the doors behind her. The sound of the music sounded loudly from inside the hall as she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the cool night air on her face, before reopened her eyes and began to head back towards the hall.

"You look beautiful," a voice called and she stopped short, jumping slightly in surprise, "But then you always do, don't you?"

The Hatter frowned, the voice sounding oddly familiar as she turned to see, much to her shock, River Song step out from behind the tree, smiling at her widely and dressed in a red gown, "River?" she gasped, staring at her wide eyed.

"Honeykins, your toes are going to freeze if you're not careful," River remarked, shaking her head, but there was fondness in her tone, "But I suppose it's very you to lose your heels the first chance you get".

"I haven't thrown them in a Supernova yet," the Time Lady replied, shrugging, still trying to hide her shock, "That's got to mean that there was something good about them, unlike those purple death-traps my last body wore'.

The other woman laughed, "The nights still young," she winked at her, a knowing smile on her face.

"Oh, great, yet another person to make a reference to the honeymoon," the Hatter groaned in exasperation, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Had I known how many people would do the same thing, I think I would have preferred that the Doctor and I had eloped".

"And miss out on the chance for the two of you to show off on the dance floor? Not a chance. Beside, you have been given a chance to spend the evening seeing old friends".

The Time Lady took a deep breath, frowning at the other woman, "River, I ought to warn you that this is the second time we've meet," she cast her a strange look, "What, you're not going to tell me 'spoilers?'"

"You already understand the concept of spoilers," River told her with a small shrug, a soft smile on her face, "It's the Doctor who struggles with it. I know with you that you will be careful just what you say, he control's his mouth the same way he does the TARDIS".

The Hatter laughed, "Only without the breaks on," she nodded in agreement before sighing, casting River a long look, "You won't join the party, will you?"

"No, I'm otherwise engaged tonight," she informed her, "But I wanted to see you tonight," she smiled, "I hadn't meant for you to see me".

The Time Lady stepped closer to her, eyeing her face closely, "It must be terribly hard," she sighed sadly, "To know me, and yet for me to not know you".

"It's worth it".

"Oh, River, I'm certainly not worth any of your tears".

River simply shook her head at her.

The Hatter gave a sad looked and opened her arms, "Come here, I might not be_ your_ Hatter, but I can certainly still try to offer you a hug," she tried to smile brightly.

The other woman's mouth twitched and she stepped into the hug, "Nothing better than a Hatter hug," she remarked.

"I don't know, Doctor Hugs are pretty brilliant".

"Would you accept that they are equally good?"

"Just this once, I will".

River pulled back from the hug, giving the Time Lady a smile, "Well, I should be off," she stepped back, giving her a wink, "By the way, love the dress," and with that, she clicked a button the Vortex Manipulator that she had strapped to her wrist, and disappeared in a flash of light.

The Hatter stood there, staring at the spot for a long moment, before shaking her head, "Who are you River Song?" she muttered to herself, thinking over just how odd, even for a time traveller, the whole experience truly had been.

Eventually, she shook herself out of her thoughts, realising that River might have been right about her toes freezing, and quickly began to head back towards the hall, but as she reached for the door handle, it flew open and she found herself face to face to a concerned looking Doctor.

"Hatter!" he exclaimed, sounding relieved, "I've been looking everywhere for you, and then Sarah told me that you had taken Luke back to the TARDIS but hadn't seen you come back, I thought…"

A smile spread across her face, "What?" she raised her eyebrows, making sure he could hear how amused she was, "That I had been kidnapped from our wedding?"

"I can think of a few who would do it," he gave her a look.

"Oh, and you think that I would so easily be kidnapped? I'm a Time Lady, sweetheart, not to mention a bride, even Davros would have had enough sense not to kidnap me on a night were my emotions are already running high".

The Doctor shook his head, "I don't think that would really have any effect, Hatter".

"Don't argue with the bride, Doctor," she fixed him with a stern look.

"You're really enjoying being able to say that, aren't you?"

"Yep".

He laughed fondly, shaking his head again at her before he grabbed her arm, beginning to pull her inside the hall, "Never mind that, I promised to introduce you to a few people, remember?" he glanced back at her.

"Wait," she stopped, forcing him to come to a stop, too, casting her a questioning look, "If I'm going to meet new people then I had better get my shoes".

The Doctor frowned at her in confusion, glancing down, "Oh," he blinked, looking mildly surprised for a moment, "Have you been walking around outside without shoes on…again?"

"Hey, you wear heels and see just how uncomfortable they can be! And don't say it like that, you make it sound like I'm some crazy woman who makes a habit of not wearing shoes".

He ran a hand through his hair, glancing at her sideways, "Well…" he dragged out the word, "…it wouldn't be the first time that you've had…ah, a disagreement with your footwear, would it?"

The Time Lady sighed, rolling her eyes, "One time I throw a pair of heels into a supernova, and I'm never allowed to forget it," she grumbled before pointing a sharp finger at him as he tried and failed to hold back his smile, "Just let me find my blasted shoes, Doctor, before I decide to use them to hit you over the head, instead'.

She turned and began to walk away as he called, "You wouldn't do that to your husband…would you?" he asked, sounding a little nervous.

She shot him a look over her shoulder, "Just watch me, sweetheart".

…

Once the Hatter had finally located her shoes, which turned out to be in a corner of the ladies bathroom, a place that she vaguely recalled kicking them off when she had decided to remove her makeup, she caught up with the Doctor, who led her through the crowed, avoiding Jack, who seemed even more intoxicated then earlier, and tried to drag the Doctor onto the dance floor, much to the Time Lady's amusement.

"So, who are you planning to introduce me to?" she asked, glancing at him, trying very hard to not smile to widely as the Doctor struggled to straighten his suit jacket, having very nearly been pulled out of it by Jack.

He simply winked at her, leading her past the Brig, Benton, and Liz Shaw, who seemed to be engaged in a very deep conversation, giving them a quick wave as they passed them before finally coming to a stop by a table where none other than Ian and Barbara Chesterton were sitting, "Ian, Barbara," he greeted them brightly, catching there attention as they both looked up at them, "Allow me to introduce my wife, the Hatter," he wrapped his arm around the Time Lady's waist.

The Hatter grinned broadly at the, holding out her hand, "You have no idea how long I've waited to meet you both," she told them, shaking Ian's hand, and then Barbara's.

The couple exchanged a quick look before Barbara smiled at her, "Yes, it certainly has been long in coming," she nodded and the Time Lords blinked in surprise, "Susan told us all about you," she added, noticing there surprise.

"Susan told you about the Hatter?" the Doctor shook his head after a moment, smiling fondly, "Ah, well, that's not that surprising," he shrugged, glancing at the Hatter, "You always were Susan's favourite".

"If I remember, you were her favourite," the Hatter told him, looking amused, "I wasn't even her real Aunt, she only called me that because you encouraged her to from the moment she could speak".

"She was very fond of both of you," Ian cut in, seeming to sense that the Time Lords would just end up arguing, "Susan spoke very highly of you, Hatter," he turned to her, "She told us all about the games and stories you used to play when she was a girl".

"Yes," Barbara nodded, glancing at them, "And she also told us that she believed that her Grandfather might have had deep feelings for you, Hatter".

"She knew?" they both exclaimed, their eyes widening, the Time Lady shook her head in amazement, "How is it that everyone knew and I didn't?" she continued.

"You went to school together, yes?" Ian looked in-between them, a glimmer in his eyes that made the Doctor nervous as he focused on the Time Lady, "Do you have any…ah, interesting stories to share?"

"No," the Doctor groaned as the Hatter's eyes lit up.

"Yes," she shot the Doctor a pointed look and a cheeky smile, turning back to Ian and Barbara, "Well, there was one time…"

…

"Of all the stories, you had to tell them about the time we set the Master's room on fire," the Doctor sighed twenty minutes later, the sound of Ian and Barbara's laughter still ringing in his ears as they wondered away from the table, "You couldn't have told them something…"

"Something to keep that image of the grumpy old man still in their minds whenever they think of you?" the Time Lady cut across him, sounding highly amused as she nudged his side, "Oh, please, as of today I may be your wife, but I will always be your best friend first, and as your best friend I am obligated to tell embarrassing stories about you, just as you are obligated to do the same for me".

"I haven't seen anything in writing that states that".

"It's called friendship, sweetheart, there is no writing," she laughed, shaking her head at him, linking her arm through his, "Now, who else have you yet to introduce me to?"

He flashed her a bright smile and pulled her along, around the dance floor where Martha and Mickey were dancing very closely, Katie had taken a break from her job as photograph, dancing with Michael, and Lily was back from her little rest, chatting to Sarah and Tommy.

They continued making their way around tables, approaching the blonde woman and Asian man that the Hatter had noticed during the wedding, "Grace Holloway," he grinned as the man and woman quickly looked up at them as they reached them, seeming mildly surprised to see them, "And Chang Lee, meet my wife," he nodded to the Hatter, who was looking at Grace and Chang in a new light, realising who they were, "The Hatter".

"Goodness," the Time Lady blinked, a wide, delighted smile spreading across her face, "It's wonderful to finally put faces to the names and story".

"Nice to meet you," Grace greeted, shaking the Time Lady's hand, her American accent the same as ever, "I hope you don't hold almost killing your husband against me," she joked slightly.

The Hatter laughed, shaking her head, "Oh, it wouldn't be the first time," she told her lightly, "And believe me, I've contemplated doing it myself a few times," the Doctor coughed, rubbing the back of his neck, but they ignored him, "Anyway, you weren't to know that he was a Time Lord".

"What about helping the Master almost destroy Earth?" Chang cut in, casting the Doctor an apologetic look, "Sorry about that, again".

"You wouldn't have been the first, nor the last person to have been taken in by the Master's lies," the Hatter consoled him, giving him a small smile, "Believe me, if my younger self was to see the man he became, she wouldn't have believed it," she shrugged, "As far as I'm concerned, it really wasn't your fault, and you practically did die. If the TARDIS hadn't saves you…"

"I'm curious," Grace began, narrowing her eye thoughtfully at the Doctor, "He told me that he was part human on his Mother's side. Is that true?"

The Time Lady raised her eyebrows at the Doctor, who shrugged, "It's true," he replied.

She shook her head at him, looking back to Grace, "Very, very distantly," she told her, sounding amused by the Doctor's answer, "So distantly that you could hardly even say it at all. Time Lord DNA doesn't react very well with humans, I'm afraid, most cases of Time Lord and human children, aside from the fact it was so rare, the Time Lord DNA overrides the human cells, thus, the child would be far more Time Lord then human, but of course that causes its own issues," she sighed, shaking her head, "But, to answer your question, Grace, yes, I do believe that he had a…" she glanced at the Doctor, titling her head, "…was it your Grandmother on your Mother's side who was human?"

"Yep," the Doctor nodded, shrugging, "I never meet her, though. I believe the Time Lords had her memory erased of ever having my Mother, it would have caused too much trouble".

"I bet she was the one you got your adventures side from," the Hatter smiled at him fondly, turning back to the two humans, "Now, I've heard the story of what happened that night, but since this one was regenerating, and lost his memory for most of it, I'm rather curious to hear your sides from it".

Chang and Grace exchanged a quick look before starting their side of the story…

….

The Doctor had wondered off to talk to the Brig, leaving the Hatter to her own devices once again, but she wasn't on her own for very long, as she soon enough found herself approaching Nyssa and Tegan.

"Hello, you two," she grinned at them broadly as she reached them, "My, it's certainly been a while, hasn't it?"

"I'd say," Tegan nodded, glancing at the Doctor, shaking her head, "He still had blonde hair and you were a brunette".

"Ah, good old Five," the Time Lady sighed happily. She had always been quite fond of that regeneration, he was perhaps one of the Doctor's gentler, human like selves, "You know, we accidently crashed the TARDIS into his a while back".

"I see that the Doctor still is just as poor driver as usual," Nyssa remarked, a touch of fondness in her own voice, before she cast the Time Lady a concerned look, "No one was hurt, were they, Hatter?"

"Not at all," she assured her, "It was only the Doctor and I, the shields on the TARDIS were down, hence the crash, but it was all sorted soon enough. I believe the Fifth Doctor was still traveling with you two, and my Fourth Self".

"I don't remember something like that ever happening," Tegan frowned.

"Nor do I, but I suspected that we were elsewhere in the TARDIS at the time," the Hatter shrugged, before casting Tegan a concerned look, reaching out to grasp her shoulder, "The Doctor told me that you had been diagnosed with a tumour," she sighed heavily, feeling the same grief wash over her as when the Doctor had first told her.

"I have tried to convince her to seek treatment from you and the Doctor," Nyssa informed the Time Lady, sounding just as sad as she felt, "But she refuses".

"I'm on a trail," Tegan crossed her arm across her chest, looking determined, "It hasn't killed me yet".

"Nor has it cured you," Nyssa argued gently.

The Hatter nodded carefully, "That's very true, Nyssa," she cast Tegan a look, "All you need to do is ask, and the Doctor and I will drop everything to help you, Tegan".

"No, my bodies already had enough alien influence on it, how much more do you think it would be able to handle? No, I'll deal with this the human way, and if I die…then I die".

"Or though it's painful, I do understand what you are saying," the Time Lady sighed heavily again, running a tired hand down her face before meeting Tegan's determined eyes, "I'm not going to argue with you on this, since I believe everyone has a choice about how they live and die, but I do wish that you just remember that the offer still stands".

She hesitated, seeming slightly surprised, before nodding, "Thank you".

"Now, how about we discuss something a little less grim, shall we?" she raised her eyebrows, trying to lighten the mood, "Tell me what you two have been up?"

…

"So, tell me, Tommy," the Hatter began, casting Tommy a questioning look as they danced, having managed to convince her old companion to dance with her when a song from the 50's came over. How could she not, when that was his time? "How's your Mum?" she asked, "I remember that when we last saw each other, you mentioned that she had a weak chest".

"You remember?" Tommy blinked at her in mild surprise, taking the moment that he twirled her to answer, "Well, she's a bit better," he smiled slightly, "We sold the old house and bought a nice place in the country, she's always loved the country, but Dad…" he trailed off, a frown crossing his face at the mention of his Father, before he shrugged it off, "Anyway, she's better since the move. She likes to go walking into the village every morning".

"It's sounds lovely," the Time Lady smiled at him, but she was cut off from saying anything more as he suddenly picked her up by her waist, spinning her around in a fast pace move, and rolling her across his back, before she settled back onto her feet in one move, "Wow!" she laughed in delight as a few people cheered and whistled at the display, apparently having caught their attention, "You've been practising!"

He grinned at her, "There's not much to do in a small village," he replied, raising his eyebrows, before spinning her around and, knowing what was coming next this time, she sat on the floor, still holding his hands as he stepped over the top of her and dragged her across the floor, under his legs, and back onto her feet in one smooth motion, "I see you're a bit rusty, Hatter," he remarked, sounding amused as she stumbled slightly as she straightened.

"Yeah, well, I don't exactly live in the time period where swing dance was all the rage," she rolled her eyes, but was still grinning as he twirled her, letting go of her hand, when she suddenly found herself in the Doctor's arm, who was grinning down at her, "Sweetheart!" she exclaimed in surprise, "Couldn't let Tommy have all the fun, I suppose?"

The Doctor grinned, his eyes twinkling, "I don't think the fun's over for him yet," he commented, nodding over to were Tommy had already found his next partner, Katie, and was already swinging her around, "Besides, how could I miss out of a chance to do this?" and with that, he grabbed her waist, picking her up, and swung her around, and around before settling her back down, still dancing, "See?"

The Hatter laughed, kicking her legs out as he did the same, "I truly do love dancing!"

"So do I!"

….

After a few more rounds of dancing, switching from the Doctor, to Jack, who despite his very obvious drunkenness, turned out to be very good at the Charleston, and to a slow paced waltz with the Brig, the Hatter had finally danced herself off her feet, settled down at a table by the dance floor, smiling as she watched the other's dancing, when she noticed Max and Michael moving towards her.

"Hello, you two," she smiled at them, raising an eyebrow, "I see the two of you have meet".

"We were just exchanging stories about our travels with you," Max told her as they pulled out chairs across the table from her, sitting down.

"Oh, dear, I assume that most of these adventures were ones in which I somehow embarrassed myself?"

"To be fair, Hatter," Michael smiled broadly at her, looking amused, "We did talk about the times you embarrassed us, too".

She gave them both mockingly outraged looks, "Embarrassed you?" she gasped, "I would never!"

"The first time I meet Alice's family?" Max coughed pointedly, giving her a look, "You told her little brother that I was some hero, and then when his kite got stuck in a tree he expected me to climb up and get it".

"Hey, I was being a good friend, that little boy had prankster written all over him, I was only protecting you from his pranks by getting him to respect you. And how was that tree business my fault? I had no idea that would happen, and if you weren't trying so hard to make a good impression of Alice's Father, then you wouldn't have needed to climb up the tree single handily, you could have got a ladder".

He sighed, shaking his head, "You're missing the point. I ended up falling out and breaking my arm, remember? And we couldn't go back to the TARDIS to fix it because that would have look odd".

The Hatter winced slightly, remembering it very well, "Yes, but you have to admit that it did make a rather good impression as to what lengths you were prepared to go to," she weakly argued.

"Hatter, they still bring it up every time Alice and I visit them. It's turned into a running joke in the family now".

"Well…it's nice that they can laugh about it, isn't it?"

Michael shook his head fondly, "You haven't changed, Hat," he commented.

She shot him a look at the nickname, choosing to pretend as if she hadn't heard it, "I like to think that I still retain aspects of myself from when I first started travelling," she smiled slowly, "I was so young and I thought I was ready for anything," she laughed at herself, "Oh, how wrong could I possibly be?"

"You've done alright, though," he continued, looking over to where the Doctor was dancing with Liz Shaw, "I mean, you're married, you still have that brain of yours, still the same old sense of humour. I think you've done pretty well, all things considered".

A dark look passed her face, "Perhaps," she shrugged, "I still wish that I could say that I haven't got blood on my hands".

Michael looked at her sharply, a look of understanding crossing his face as Max looked in-between them, "April's death wasn't your fault, Hatter," he told her firmly, "You told us not to follow you for anything, to stay inside the TARDIS, and we didn't listen".

The Hatter gave him a look that very clearly said that she wasn't convinced, reaching over to pat his arm, "But it's not just April," she sighed heavily, swallowing, "How many others have died, or very nearly died because of my actions?".

"This really isn't something that you should be thinking about, not today of all days," Max told her gently, giving her a worried look, "You should be happy, thinking about the future, not about the past".

She cast him a small smile, "I do believe I did a very good job in choosing my companions," she remarked softly, trying to change the subject, knowing that they would only end up going around in circles, because there was nothing that would convince her that she hadn't been to blame in not just April's death, but so many other people's deaths, too.

Michael laughed, seeming relieved at the change of topic, "You think you chose us?" he shook his head at her, "Please, we chose you, Hat, it's always been that way".

"Oh, I wasn't aware that was the case," a teasing a smile twitched the corner of her mouth, "How silly I have been for all these centuries".

"Well, some allowances have to be made," Max commented, giving her a cheeky look, "I mean, you are…what? In your nine hundred's now…"

"Oi!" the Time Lady exclaimed, pointing a warning finger at them both as they tried hard not to laugh, but they could both tell that she was struggle to hold back a laugh of her own, "Don't get cheeky with me," she sniffed, purposely sticking her nose in the air, "Since I'm apparently such an _old_ lady".

"Don't worry, Hat," Michael grinned at her, patting her arm comfortingly, "We've got you a walking frame on standby if your hip suddenly gives out".

All three of them dissolved into laughter, and despite the fact that Max and Michael had only known each other for the day, nor travelled with the Time Lady at the same time, it truly did feel as if nothing had ever changed between them.

…

Eventually, Alice dragged Max away for a dance, leaving Michael and the Hatter to chat for a while, discussing Michael's job working now as a privet eye in London with Katie, who even though she had her own photography studio, was more than happy to help investigate cases, but even he ended up being dragged away by Tegan, who seemed to have taken a liking to him, leaving the Time Lady once again on her own. Not that ever last long, as not a minute had passed before Ace and Mel took up Michael and Max's empty seats.

"I've been waiting all night to get a chance to see you, Hatter," Ace informed her, and the Time Lady smiled fondly as she took in the sight of the same old leather jacket that she had worn during her travels, apparently still very much loved, "You haven't been easy to pin down, but you never really have been".

The Hatter smiled at them both, shrugging, "The bride and groom do have the busiest jobs of all, even after the actual wedding ceremony, they still have to make sure they speak with all their guests".

She shook her head, "The Professor seems to be enjoying himself," she commented, nodding to were the Doctor, having switched dancing partners, was now seeming to be trying to fight off Jack, who was determined to dance with him, "Who's that guy, again?"

"Oh, that's Jack Harkness. He's the leading of Torchwood…ah, that probably doesn't help if you've never heard of Torchwood to begin with".

"He tried flirting with me earlier," Mel remarked with a small frown on her face, "I don't think his friend was very impressed, though".

The Hatter laughed, "Yeah, that's Jack," she shook her head fondly before pausing, "'His friend?'"

"That quiet man over there," she nodded over to where Ianto was moving to the Doctor's aid, trying to coax Jack away.

"Ah," the Time Lady smiled slowly, nodding in understanding, "Yes, I believe there might be something going on between those two," her smile widened slightly, "If not, there certainly will be very soon with the way Ianto, that's his name, keeps looking at him".

Ace turned back to the Hatter, giving her a bright smile, "You know, I always knew the Professor would tell you eventually," she told her, shrugging, "You can't keep feelings like those bottle up forever".

"He certainly tried to…and so did I, I suppose".

"How did he tell you?" Mel asked eagerly, "I bet it was romantic. No, wait! Did he tell you in the middle of some big moment when you both thought you were going to die? Or did he just blurt it out, like he asked you to pass the salt, and ended up telling you he loved you? No, better yet…"

"The Professor wouldn't just blurt something like that out," Ace rolled her eyes at her, not seeming quite as eager as her friend to hear the story, but there was a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

The red head looked quickly to the Hatter, who was blinking in surprise, "Well?"

"Ah…it just kind of…happen," she said slowly, shrugging slightly, still taken aback, "I mean, it happened in the console room…"

"The console room?" Mel repeated, seeming almost disappointed, apparently having be expected some great big dramatic location, before she shook her head, "Go on".

"Um, he kind of just cornered me into admitting that I had feelings to me…that's an even longer story. Anyway, I thought he was joking when he said he felt the same, we talk about a few things from the past, and then just discussed where to go from there".

"You're not going to go into more detail than that?" she stared at her.

"What else do you want me to say?" she put on a deep, breathless voice, "'_He took me into his warm, loving embrace, his kiss was like velvet, and his touch sent hot sparks running across my skin_…'" she trailed off, bursting out laughing, along with Ace, her voice returning to normal, "I'm sorry, Mel, but my life is far from being a romance novel".

Ace grinned broadly, rising her hand to high five with the Time Lady, "Brilliant, Hatter," she laughed, "You really captured the essence of one of those books. Are you sure you're not actually a writer?"

Mel sighed heavily, "Okay, I suppose I asked for that," she shook her head, "But you two have been in love for so long, can you blame me for expecting you to go into more detail?"

The Time Lady gave her a slightly sympathetic smile, "I suppose that you do have a point," she accepted, "But to be honest, I'm not entirely sure if I've ever really actually thought about the romance the Doctor and I have. We've been friends for so long, that I mainly just think of the friendship," she shrugged, titling her head thoughtfully, "I mean, obviously, I'm _more_ than aware of that romantic connection, today was beautiful, the night he proposed was romantic, but I'm not exactly use to going around with that constant thought in my mind of 'Ooh, this is romantic,' more often than not I'm thinking, 'This may just have been a very big mistake,' or my old favourite, 'Why do I ever let him out of my sight?'" Ace laughed at the last one, having heard the Time Lady grumble it more than once.

"Alright, then," Mel nodded, narrowing her eyes at the Time Lady, "You said you found the night he proposed romantic, tell us about it," she pointed a warning finger at her, "And with detail this time".

The Hatter sighed heavily, glancing at Ace for help, but she held up her hands, "Sorry, Hatter, you're on your own for this one," she replied, obviously enjoying watching her squirm slightly in her chair.

"Fine," she groaned, closing her eyes briefly, "You want details, I'll give details," she reopened her eyes, narrowing them at the red head, "But after that, no more story time from me, I want to hear about you two".

They both nodded, even Ace, and she reluctantly began.

…

In must have been close to midnight before the Time Lords even got a chance to cut the wedding cake, which had three tiers covered in thick white icing, a tiny TARDIS sitting on the very top, where two figures were, meant to be the Doctor and the Hatter running into the open doors, wearing their wedding clothes, and with their hands attached.

Once the cake had been served and eaten, it was well past midnight, and the Time Lords decided that it would probably be best to take everyone back home. They all crowded into the console room and even for the size of the room, it was a tight fit as everyone had to move back to stand close to the railings to allow the Time Lords access to the controls, but eventually they got everyone home, save for a very drunk Jack and his team.

"I love you guys!" he slurred, stumbling as he tried to hug them both, Gwen and Ianto exchanging looks caught amusement and annoyance from where they were waiting in the TARDIS doorway, "You are the best!" he giggled, clumsily grabbing the Doctor's front, "Really, you are…"

"So are you, Jack," the Hatter smiled at him sympathetically, watching him stumbling around really was something that she never quite thought she would see Jack do.

"Love you!"

"Yeah, yeah," the Doctor nodding, sighing as he patted his arm, "Love you to, Captain".

Jack suddenly lunched himself on the Hatter, hugging her tightly, "And you…you are great, you know that?" he told her, placing a sloppy kiss a little too close to her mouth, but she suspected that the intention had actually been her lips.

"Harkness, hands were I can see them," the Doctor called sharply to him, crossing his arms across his chest, "And keep you face away from my wife".

"Doctor, he's drunk," the Time Lady rolled her eyes slightly, managing to pull the man off her, gently guiding him towards his team mates, "He's hardly in a state of mind to be scolded right now. Besides, I'm sure it was perfectly innocent". Lies.

"I don't care, I'm not going to have my wife groped".

She simply rolled her eyes again, giving Gwen and Ianto a friendly smile, "I do hope you enjoyed yourselves," she said to them, sighing slightly as she passed Jack onto Ianto, "He certainly seemed to have. I've never seen him drunk before," she remarked.

"He doesn't get much chance to really relax like tonight," Gwen told her, casting Jack a look, shaking her head, "I guess we'd better get him to bed".

"Bed…" Jack muttered sleepily into Ianto's shoulder, his body practically limp, and his eyes closed.

The Hatter eyed him, "Dear me, I dread to think just how bad the hangover's going to be," she glanced at his team mates, "Take care of him, make sure he drink's lots of fluids. Oh, and try not to let him chase after any aliens, it won't end nicely for anyone's shoes, I expect".

They both grimaced and nodded, saying their goodbyes as they half carried the sleeping Jack outside, but the Time Lady grabbed Gwen's arm just before she closed the door, casting a quick glance back at the Doctor to make sure he wasn't watching.

"Gwen, I need to pass this message on to Jack when he's…feeling better," she quickly told her, keeping her voice low as she meet the other woman's eyes, "Now, I can't say much, but everything will make sense soon, I promise," she paused, closing her eyes before she shook her head, looking determined, "Look, there's going to come a point soon that the Doctor and I can't be here to help, it's something called a fixed point, and if we were there..." she swallowed painfully, "Well, we…I wouldn't be able to stop myself, and believe me, there's already been too much of that sort of thing happening," she sighed heavily, thinking about Mars.

Gwen frowned at her, looking worried, "I understand," she nodded, "What's the message".

"Tell Jack this, now it's very important. Tell him, that it's bad enough to lose a child, let alone to witness it. Tell him that no matter what, make sure _she_ doesn't see. It will make sense, I promise, and when it does…I am so, so, sorry with both my hearts. And make sure he knows that it isn't his fault. I'm sorry I can't say any more, I've already said more than enough, but this is rather close to my hearts. I couldn't not say something and let another Mother go through the same pain…" she trailed off, swallowing thickly.

She stared at her, wide eyed for a moment, "Something big's coming, isn't it?" she swallowed.

The Hatter looked back at her grimly, "Just make sure you tell Jack, I would have done it myself, but in his current state…" she shook her head, "Just be sure to pass the message on, please".

"I will".

She smiled at her, "Oh, I know you will," she commented, "Jack seems to have a rather good knack for picking the best to work with him. Goodbye, Gwen, and be sure to tell Ianto I said my goodbye's also".

And with that, the Hatter closed the doors behind her, walked back up to the console, and flopped down on the chair, her dress flaring out around her as she kicked off her shoes again, the Doctor sent them off into the Time Votex before joining her.

"What was all that about?" the Doctor asked curiously, glancing at her as he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"Just a word of advice for Jack," she replied, shrugging casually as she meet his eyes, exchanging an understanding look, "Not to worry, sweetheart, I was very, very careful, but you know I couldn't just let something like that pass without trying to at the very least make it better," she sighed heavily, closing her eyes painfully, "There's nothing more agonising then losing a child, but the image of witnessing it, of hearing it, never leaves you," she shook her head, opening her eyes again, "If I can prevent one Mother from that, then it's the least I can do. I only wish that we could actually stop it from happening at all".

"You're talking about Jack's grandson," he realised with a small start.

"Of course," she glanced at him, an eyebrow raised in an almost challenging gesture, "Are you going to scold me?"

He cast her a grim smile, "Well…I'm hardly one to talk, and you didn't actually break any rules. You just…bent them a little".

"Yes, but somehow I doubt old Borusa would have approved, nor my parents, for that matter".

"Look at what happened to Borusa, and as much as I dislike speaking ill of your parents, they didn't approve of most of the things you did in the first place".

The Hatter laughed slightly, shaking her head, "You do realise that you have my full permission to say exactly what you wish to about my parents," she told him, sounding amused, "They certainly never held back on their feelings of you, and it doesn't bother me".

The Doctor cast her a grin, "Somehow it doesn't feel right to speak ill of my in-laws".

"Ah," she smiled broadly in return, nodding, "Yes, that's right. Goodness, that's a frightening thought, isn't it? Still, it's a shame that I will never get the chance to see the horrified looks on their faces to the news," she shook her head, looking disappointed.

"Speaking of our wedding," he looked at her sideways, almost seeming nervous, "You're happy, aren't you?"

The Time Lady's eyes widened as she looked at him, startled, "Why would you ever ask such a thing sweetheart?" he went to open his mouth, but she shook her head, "Oh, you brilliant idiot," she laughed, placing a hand on his cheek, "Of _course_ I'm happy, how could I possibly not be happy when we can actually call each other husband and wife, and for it to be true?"

He smiled broadly again, "It's just…" he shrugged slightly, suddenly looking embarrassed, "Well…I wasn't sure if this whole thing was just a part of my imagination. It wouldn't be the first time I've imagined what it would be like to marry you".

The Hatter laughed again and pinched his shoulder, causing him to yelp, and quickly start to rub the spot, looking shocked, "There we go," she smiled at him, still looking amused, "If this was all just a part of your head, then you wouldn't have felt the pain," she rolled her eyes as he continued to rub the spot, "Oh, stop it. You're a grown man…or you are for the most part, at least. A pinch isn't going to kill you, sweetheart".

"No, but you might".

She titled her head with a wink, "Perhaps".

His eyes twinkled brightly at her as a sly look crossed his face, "You know, there's still one part of the Uniting ceremony we haven't done yet," he remarked quietly.

The Hatter stared at him for a moment, looking completely blank before it hit her, and her cheeks immediately turned bright red, causing the Doctor to laughed, "Oh," she cleared her throat, her voice sounding strangely high, "Oh…ah, yes…"

A look of alarm spread across his face as he grabbed her hands, holding them tightly, "We don't have to," he assured her comfortingly, his eyes wide, "If you don't feel ready, then we don't have to do anything…"

A small smile crossed her face as she raised an eyebrow at him, "And what would you do?" she asked, sounding amused, "Knock yourself out with a sedative? That might be a bit problematic, since I will be needing your help with the buttons on this dress, and I rather need you to be awake for that".

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth, obviously thinking fast…probably faster if the image of helping the Hatter to undo the back of her dress wouldn't stop popping into his head, "Ah…well…" he bit his lip thoughtfully.

The Hatter, taking pity on him, shook her head, "Sweetheart, you truly are one of the loveliest people I have ever meet," she told him, smiling gently, "To actually suggest that we don't do anything, on our wedding night, no less…" she trailed off, laughing slightly, "Yes, I'm nervous, I won't claim not to be, nor will I claim to exactly be…ah…experienced in this regard…"

He blinked in mild surprise, "You mean, that…"

"Only once throughout all of my regenerations," she nodded, meeting his eyes. Truth was, that she had only actually been with one person in such a way before, and that had been during a very drunken night in the Academy when they had been teenagers, and of course they had blamed it completely on the alcohol, agreeing never to speak of it again, but it had almost ruined their friendship at the time. She smiled slowly, shrugging, "I never could engage in something quite so special with someone who I didn't love, Doctor, which just goes to show how blind I have been for all these centuries".

The Doctor stared at her for a long moment before he stood, taking her hand and placed a kiss on it, pulling her onto her feet. He flashed her a wink and suddenly picked her up, causing her to yelp in surprised.

"Hey!" she exclaimed in surprise as he started to walk towards the door leading to the rest of the TARDIS, her arms wrapping around his neck, "Put me down! As sweet as this is, I can walk".

Instead, he simply kissed her, cutting off anything else she might have said, before pulling back, still managing to walk, "I love you," he grinned broadly at her.

The Hatter blinked at him, slightly dazed from the kiss before she managed to shack herself, a bright smile of her own crossing her face, "I love you, too, sweetheart," her expression suddenly turned stern, but not nearly as stern as it normally would be, "Now, put me down".

The Doctor laughed and kissed her again.

_**And there we go, there finally married/United. Now, I know some of you might be a bit disappointed that there's no details about what actually happened behind closed doors, but I'm sure you can all imagine it for yourselves, and there will be hint's in the next chapter. **_

_**This chapter was just so much fun to write, so many Classic companions, plus the Hatter's companions everywhere. Did anyone see River making an appearance? I did mention that there was going to be a surprise visitor in the last chapter, and I just couldn't resist bringing her into it, since it seems like something River would do. Also, reference to Children of Earth, being such a close subject the Hatter's hearts, she couldn't not say anything. Also, Luke Smith and the Hatter's little bonding moment, another thing I couldn't resist. I hope you liked it, tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest reviews:**_

_**Guest: **__**Sadly, no. I like to try and stay as close to the episodes as I can, with minor changes here and there, of course, and if the Doctor and the Hatter were there then it would have turned into 'Waters of Mars' all over again, only this time it would be the Hatter who would need to be stopped, because she wouldn't have stood by watching all of that happening to the kids. But you did remind me that I was actually going to have a reference to it in this chapter, so thank you for that and the review :)**_


	9. Chapter 9The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith

_**The Wedding of Sarah Jane**_

The Hatter popped another jelly baby into her mouth as she allowed herself to relax against the headboard of her…well, relatively new bed, while she flickered idly through the pages of a book. Her ankles were crossed ahead of her, her boots were lying on the ground somewhere, while her waistcoat was left open, giving her a casual look.

The door to the bathroom opened across the other side of the bedroom, and the Doctor stepped out, rubbing his freshly shaved face against a fluffy, white towel before pausing, raising an eyebrow as he caught sight of the Time Lady, "Are you eating jelly baby's in bed…again?" he questioned, sounding amused.

"It helps me to stay focused on reading," she replied, hardly even looking away from the page she was currently on, popping another lolly into her mouth. A small frown crossed her face and she looked over to him, seeming to just realise exactly what he had said, "And don't say it like that, sweetheart, it's not as if I eat jelly baby's_ every_ morning".

"Oh, no," he nodded, a smile tugging on the corning of his mouth as he threw the towel back inside the bathroom, and closed the door, "Just…_most_ mornings," he grinned at her, moving closer to the bed.

The Hatter cast him a look over the top of her book, "I had a lollypop yesterday," she argued.

"I think you might be missing the point, Hatter. Most people don't have sweet's before breakfast".

"Ah," she laughed, giving him a wink, "But I'm not exactly 'most people', now, sweetheart".

The Doctor grinned again and knelt on his side of the bed, moving closer towards her, and kissed her, "No, you certainly aren't," he agreed, pulling back slightly, while with one hand he managed to sneakily grab the book from her grasp, "Now, what could be more distracting then me…" he wondered aloud, flipping the book over.

The Time Lady rolled her eyes fondly, "Oh, do watch that ego of yours, Doctor," she scolded lightly, sounding amused, "It's already bigger then the Earth, as it is".

He shook his head at her, still smiling as he looked down at the cover, "Botany?" he blinked in surprise, his eyes widening slightly as they snapped up to meet the Hatter's, who shrugged in return.

"I thought I might give it another go. I mean, my sister, Mother, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother were all botanists, surly I must have inherited_ something_ from them".

"You mean aside from their tempers?"

She fixed him with a look, "And how would you know if my Grandmother and Great-Grandmother's had tempers?" she asked with narrowed eyes, "I never even meet the women myself".

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, knowing that saying the wrong thing would no doubt make a appearance of her said temper, "Um…I was just…"

"Just?"

He coughed, quickly looking for anything to change the subject, "Oh, your hair looks beautiful today," he suddenly said, taking a lock of her hair and twisting it around his finger, "It's very…well, it's a bit bouncer today. Did you curl it?"

The Hatter stared at him before bursting out laughing, shaking her head at him, "That's what you decided to go with, my hair?" she grinned, rolling her eyes as she moved her hand to his cheek, patting it gently, "Oh, sweetheart, you really do say some of the most amusing thing's when flustered".

"Well, I wasn't lying…" he smiled.

Her grin faded and she fixed him with a sharp look, "Don't start," she told him sternly, "You know very well that my hair is a straight as it always is in this regeneration, and nor would I have bothered to curl it when there's no need to do so".

"Right," the Doctor nodded quickly, letting go of her hair as he glanced back at the book, "But…now, don't get cross…"

"Sweetheart, I'm not going to fly off the handle just because you asked a question. Dear me, what must you think of me?" she shook her head again, but seemed more amused then annoyed.

"That I am the luckiest man in the Universe to be able to call you my wife?"

"Nice try, sweetheart, but flattery has never worked on me".

He raised his eyebrows at her, a sly smile crossing his face as he leaned closer to her, "Oh, well, I bet other things could distract…"

"Doctor," the Hatter placed her finger on his lips, preventing him from saying another word as she felt her cheeks heat up, "The honeymoon officially ended at midnight last night, therefore, we have planets to save and people to help," she removed her finger from his lips and began to move around him, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, and stood, all the while her voice taking on a stern tone, "Oh, and I promised Sarah Jane that we would pop in and meet the rest of her friends," she added, casting her eyes around the room in an attempt to locate her boots.

The Doctor sighed heavily and rolled on to his back, pouting up at the ceiling, "You do know that this is a time machine?" he lifted his head enough to see her still searching for her boots, even going so far, much to his amusement, to pick up a stack of books to see if they were under them, "We could stay here as long as we want".

She cast him a slightly amused look over her shoulder, "Of course we could," she shrugged, a cheeky grin spreading across her face, "But we won't, because there's still an entire Universe out there. Plus, I did promise…ah!" her face lit up happily as she finally located her boots on the other side of the room, and practically skipped over to grab them, "Now…" she paused, a thoughtful frown on her face as she held them to her chest, her eyes roaming around the rest of the room, "What did I do with my lovely bowtie?"

"Console room," he replied with a small smile, pulling himself up so that he was leaning against the headboard, watching her as she grinned broadly again, and began heading for the door, boots still in hand, "Wait!" he called after her, making her pause, and look back at him with a questioning look, "You reading that botany book…" he said slowly and carefully, weary of her reaction, "You're not planning to do any actual gardening…are you?"

"Well, I did consider it at first," the Time Lady admitted, almost laughing aloud at the horrified look that the Doctor tried and failed to hide. It was almost worth making a complete fool out of herself attempting to garden just to see his face, "But, on further thought, I think I'll just leave plants to you, same with art, and languages," she pulled a childish face, making him laugh fondly, "I'm afraid that there's just some things that I'll never, no matter how hard I might try, be good at, sweetheart".

And with that, she sent him a wink, and opened the door, disappearing out of sight.

…

Of course, things never did turn out quite how the Time Lords expected them to, as they quickly discovered that Sarah Jane, much to their surprise and delight, was getting married. Sadly, it almost at once became apparent when they tried to land, that something very, very bad was happening, and after several failed attempts to land, they decided that they needed to do something urgently. They couldn't even get a message to Mr Smith, who seemed to have been completely shut down, which only made them all the more worried, because there was certainly no way that Sarah would have turned him off.

The TARDIS jolted and shock violently as the Time Lords raced around the console, struggling to break through a powerful, not mention very strong barricade that seemed to be converging on Sarah's location in the time stream. Sparks flew, the Hatter ducked out of the way as she grabbed the monitor and turned it around, groaning loudly as she looked at the results.

"Doctor, I think I've figured out whose behind this whole thing!" she called to him, swearing under her breath as she was almost thrown off balance as the time machine jolted again.

"Who?" the Doctor asked curiously, grabbing a lever and hitting a couple of buttons, trying to look around the Time Rotor to see her.

She sighed heavily, "The Trickster," she told him, raising her voice again to be heard, "Sarah told me at our wedding that that she's had a few run-ins with him in the past, and you have to admit that there's very few with the power to be able to do something like this".

"If that's the case, then we're basically handing ourselves to him. It's got to be a trap".

The blonde grinned broadly across to him, "Of course," he returned the grin, but hers quickly faded, replaced with a look of deep concern, "I just hope Sarah's going to be okay," she sighed heavily.

If the Doctor could have reached and taken her hand, he would have, but just in that moment the TARDIS gave a very violent lunch, causing both Time Lords to lose their grip on the console, and sending them crashing onto the floor with painful groans, just as all the shaking seemed to slow and disappear completely.

"We've landed," the Doctor winced slightly as he pulled himself back to his feet, rubbing his lower back as he quickly stepped over to help the Time Lady back on to her feet, and she straightened her hat, "We'd better get out there," he glanced at her.

The Hatter nodded, looking determined if not slightly dishevelled from her fall. They grabbed each other's hands and raced over to the door, throwing it open to find themselves inside the foyer of an old manor house, obviously now a hotel, and raced over towards a set of double doors, faintly hearing a woman's voice calling, "…if any person can show just cause or impediment why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace…"

And, seeing their chance, the Time Lords burst through the doors and into a large, warmly lit room, filled with rows of chairs were several guests were all sitting, along with Luke and two other teenagers, who were sitting towards the front, while Sarah Jane stood at the front of the room, wearing a floor length wedding gown, and beside her stood a man, obviously the groom.

"Stop this wedding now!" the Time Lords shouted urgently as they raced into the room, coming to a stop halfway down the aisle, their eyes fixed on Sarah.

Sarah gasped and spun around to face them, her eyes widening in shock as the rest of the guests turned to look at them, too, "What?" she exclaimed, staring at them.

"What's going on?" one of the teenagers beside Luke, a dark haired girl in a pretty, bright pink dress asked, frowning at the two strangers, the man in a blue suit, while woman wore a hat.

"Who the hell is that?" a man in the front left row wondered aloud, bearing some resemblance to the teenager girl.

Luke shook his head, staring at the Time Lords in amazement, "I don't believe it," he breathed.

The girl glanced at him, confused, "Who are they?"

"Master!" K-9 called, rolling out from under a table, hidden from view by a tablecloth, "Mistress!"

"We said, stop this wedding," the Doctor repeated firmly, ignoring everyone else, his eyes fixed on Sarah.

"Sarah, come with us," the Hatter stepped towards her, reaching out her hand to her, trying to give her a comforting smile, "Please, there's more going on here…" but before she could finish, a strong wind suddenly began blowing through the room, ruffling people's hair and clothing.

The Doctor grabbed the Hatter's hand, pulling her back towards him as the room began shaking, causing them to stumble as they struggled to remain standing, the wind growing even stronger.

"Alert!" K-9 announced to the room, turning around and around in a small circle on the spot, Sarah Jane's eyes moved over towards him, "Alert! Danger, Mistress!"

"Stop!" the Time Lords shouted desperately as they noticed the groom grab Sarah's arm, pulling her closer towards him, "Get away from him!"

"No!" Sarah cried as she looked down at her arm, realising what he was doing, and looked back up to the man's face, "Peter, no!"

"Don't be afraid, Sarah Jane," the man, Peter, told her gently, not letting go of her as Sarah looked back to the Time Lords as they could only watch on, struggling to remain standing, "It's the Angel," he smiled softly.

The guests gasped in shock and fear as off to the side of the room, a short distance from Sarah and Peter, small electrical lights flickered before a figure draped in a white, hooded robe appeared, with no eyes and nose, but a mouth filled with very sharp, pointed teeth.

"I was right!" the Hatter groaned loudly, her eyes narrowing from the force of the wind as she eyed the hooded figure carefully, "Why did I have to be right?"

"The Trickster!" the teenager girl exclaimed, staring at him with horror.

"Mum!" Luke called urgently, looking quickly over to Sarah, trying to stand but the force of the wind was to strong, "Mum!"

Sarah tried to pull her arm out of Peter's grasp, her eyes widening in horror and fear as she immediately looked over to Luke, before looked back over to the Time Lords.

"Sarah!" the Doctor shouted to her before turning angrily to the Trickster, stumbling slightly with the wind, wrapping an arm around the Hatter to try and steady each other, "Trickster, let her go!" he demanded.

"Leave her alone!" the Hatter glared at the Trickster, trying to push forwards, wanting desperately to reach Sarah, and if she couldn't get to her, then to the three teenagers.

"Too late, Time Lords," the Trickster laughed, his mouth opened wide in a mocking grin as he pointed at them, obviously enjoying himself as he stepped over to Sarah and Peter, "You're mine, Sarah Jane Smith," Sarah tried to step back from him, but Peter's hold on her arm was to strong, "Mine forever!"

"Sarah!" the Time Lords cried desperately, reaching their arms out towards her, still trying to fight their way against the wind, but it was useless.

"Doctor!" Sarah called, trying to reach for them, "Hatter!"

The Trickster grabbed her and Peter's arm, and vanished them in a swirl of energy. The wind died down, allowing the Time Lords to finally run forwards and up to the front of the room, looking around frantically, shouting, "Sarah, no!"

Suddenly, the entire room began shaking, and energy began washing over the guests, causing them to cry out in distress, save for Luke and the two other teenagers, who was left staring across at them all as they vanished.

"Mum!" the girl called, a touch of panic in her tone, "Dad!"

The Time Lords looked around, exchanging a quick look as the shaking continued, "Hold on!" they called to the three teenagers, ducking down, and onto the floor, grabbing one of the legs of a table that the minister had been using during the ceremony, "Everyone hold on!"

The shaking increased and a blinding, white light filled the room, forcing everyone to shield there eyes…

…

"Luke?" the Doctor called gently as he leaned over the unconscious boy, while the Hatter checked over the other two teenagers, also in the same condition. Apparently, the light and all the shaking had caused the three teens to fall off their chairs and left them unconscious, "Luke Smith?" he tried again.

Slowly, Luke began to stir, blinking blearily as he opened his eyes to find the Doctor hovering over him, "D…Doctor?" he frowned in confusion.

"That's me," he grinned down at him as the Hatter sighed in relief, looking very pleased as she finished examining the third teenager, a boy in a brown pinstripe suit and white Converse's that reminded her, much to her amusement, of the Doctor's favoured suit. It was lucky he had gone with blue today, otherwise she would have had a field day, "Good to see you again," he continued.

"What…what happened?" his eyes widened as he quickly pulled himself so that he was sitting upright, looking around frantically, "Mum and the Trickster…"

"Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke, listen to me," the Doctor quickly told him, trying to calm him down as the Hatter, noticing the boy's distress, hurried over, and knelt on the floor, putting a comforting arm around him, "Everything's going to be all right".

"Just take a few deep breaths, Luke," the Time Lady smiled soothingly at him, meeting his eyes, "Just as the Doctor said, everything is going to be okay. Now, I promise you, and I always keep my promises, that we will get Sarah back, but we are going to need you, Luke, to be strong, okay?"

The Doctor nodded along with her, "Just like you were before," he added, giving him a grin and a wink, just as the two other teenagers began to wake up, "We know you can do it".

Luke nodded slowly.

The Hatter, noticing the other teenagers, who were staring at the Time Lords, quickly stood and heading towards them, trying to give them another soothing smile as they backed away from her, "It's okay," she said gently, holding up her hands to show she meant them no harm, "Easy, now, we're here to help".

"Who are you?" the boy demanded, his eyes wide as he looked in-between the Time Lords.

"Hello!" the Doctor grinned broadly, leaping to his feet, and reaching out his hand to the boy, "Clyde!" the boy blinked and took his hand, helping to be pulled back onto his feet.

"And you must be Rani!" the Hatter smiled brightly as she turned to the girl, holding out her own hand in return, and helping the still rather confused and unsure girl to her feet, "Oh, it's wonderful to finally meet you both," she informed the two teens as she glanced at Clyde, Rani pulled away almost as soon as she was back onto her feet, "Luke told me all about you both, of course".

"What?" Clyde blinked, shooting Luke a questioning look as the Doctor knelt on the floor in front of the table at the front of room, pressing his ear to the floor, listening as the Hatter stepped over to him, "How'd you know my name?" he asked, looking at the Time Lords.

"Wait a moment…" Rani began slowly, suddenly looking excited, pointing a finger from the Time Lady to the Doctor, "You must be…it's you two, isn't it?" she gasped.

"That's me," the Doctor replied, straightening and standing, hurrying down the opposite end of the aisle.

"Hello, again," the Time Lady flashed them a grin, wiggling her fingers at them in a little wave.

"The Doctor and the Hatter!" the girl's mouth fell open slightly.

Luke nodded as the Doctor pressed his ear to the floor again, "That's them".

"I hope you're both as good as Sarah Jane says you are," Clyde remarked, eyeing both Time Lords.

"Well…" the Doctor dragged out the word, straightening from the floor, "You know journalists, always exaggerating," he cast his eyes thoughtfully around the room as the Hatter raised her eyebrows at him, "But…yeah…" he stood and turned back to them, smiling, "We're pretty amazing on a good day…or every day for the Hatter," he sent the blonde a wink, making her roll her eyes.

"Oh, dear, we are modest today," the Hatter shook her head fondly, a touch of amusement in her voice, "We really ought to get a pin to pop that ego of yours, sweetheart, otherwise you'll never fit through the TARDIS doors".

The Doctor's smile turned into a grin, but before he could say anything, K9 rolled towards them, "Master, Mistress, query," he called to them, causing the Time Lords to exchange delighted looks, before focusing their attention on the little robot, "Where is Mistress Sarah Jane?"

"K9!" they cheered excitedly and crouched on the ground in front of him, the Doctor opening his arms in greeting, "Did you miss us? Did you miss us, eh?" he grinned, patting his head.

"Repeat. Whereabouts of Sarah Jane? Where is she?"

"Well…" the Doctor titled his head in a very Hatter like fashion, dragging the word out as he exchanged a look with the Time Lady, both not entirely sure on just how to answer the question.

Clyde, who had walked over to one of the windows, frowned, "Where are we?" he asked as he looked out.

Luke and Rani joined him at the window as the Doctor stood, taking the Hatter's hand, and helping her to stand, too, walking towards the three teenagers, "We've gone through what's called a dimensional shift," the Hatter explained to them as the Doctor stuck his hands inside his trouser pockets, "Basically, it means that time has moved on, while us inside this building have been left behind," she sighed slightly, gesturing around them.

Rani shook her head, staring outside the window, "There's nothing out there," she breathed.

And there wasn't, just simply a bright white light and what appeared to be fluffy clouds. The Doctor, seeing enough, turned away and began walking back down the aisle, looking thoughtful as the Hatter titled her head, leaving the teenagers still looking outside as she followed him, her eyes flying around the room intently.

"I said it all along," Clyde commented, sighing slightly, sounding grimly satisfied, "I knew there was something wrong about all of this," he frowned as he turned away from the window to see the Time Lords looking around the room, Luke and Rani turning around, too, "And what exactly is going on?" he questioned.

The Doctor, not even looking back at them, walked over to another window across the room, examining the window frame, "We'll explain later," he replied, waving them off.

"Oh, dear," the Hatter winced, knowing what was going to come, and just as she had expected, all three teenagers began talking at once, demanding answers, wanting to know if their families and Sarah Jane. The Time Lady probably would have laughed as the Doctor's eye widened slightly in surprise, before be seemed to grow mildly exasperated, and reached inside his pocket. She shook her head, closing her eyes briefly, "Enough!" she suddenly called sternly, holding up her hand, and they all fell silent, seeming to sense that it wouldn't do any good to try arguing, even the Doctor paused in retrieving something out of his pocket, "That's quite enough shouting, thank you very much," she continued in the same stern, mothering tone, "Now, if you would all give as a _chance_ to speak, then we will answer your questions," she smiled slightly when they looked eager, lowering her voice to the Doctor, "Mum skills, sweetheart".

He blinked at her, seeming briefly surprised before a soft smile crossed his face, "Nice to see that they still work," he murmured to her.

She shrugged, "Well, once a Mother, always a Mother. Besides, I raised four Time Lords throughout adolescents, there wasn't a day during the school holiday's that I didn't have to break up at least one fight between them," she smiled softly, but there was a touch of sadness about it, "My oldest son loved debating, no wonder he did so well on the Council, but it was rather troublesome always telling him off for purposely arguing with his siblings because he had been bored".

The Doctor smiled again, his eyes twinkling with amusement, "Little Theta causing trouble, just like his namesake," he shook his head, almost proudly as he remembered the little boy who had reminded him so much of his Mother, before clearing his throat, turning back to the still waiting impatiently teenagers, "Anyway," he raised his voice back to normal, "Now, here's the answer to all your questions," he began, "Yes, that was the Trickster. Yes, we're all trapped. Yes, the Hatter and I are the only ones who can get us out of the trap," he gestured between himself and the Time Lady, "Yes, we're going to bring Sarah Jane, and your Mum and Dad…" he nodded to Rani, "…and all the others back safe".

"But we can't do any of that without your three," the Time Lady smiled brightly at them, giving them each a pointed look as she meet there eyes in turn. Normally, she would have rather that children or even teenagers weren't exposed to such things, let alone something like the Trickster, but she could hardly talk, seeing as her companion, April, had been seventeen when she had first started traveling with her, and, after all, these three were quite experienced in fighting aliens, not to mention she knew that Sarah Jane would take every measure to insure that they were all kept as safe as they could be. Besides, Sarah Jane wouldn't have chosen to allow teenagers to help her unless she felt that they could handle themselves, and she trusted Sarah with her life, so if she felt that they could do it, then she was more than happy to let them help, because they were certainly going to need it.

Clyde smirked, crossing his arms across his chest, almost smugly, "You need _us_?"

"Of course we do," she grinned at him, stepping closer to the three teens and nudging his side playfully, "If Sarah Jane needs you, then who are we to argue?"

But Rani still looked upset, "My Mum and Dad, where are they?" she asked worriedly.

"Just go along with them, Rani," Luke told her, leaning closer to her as he spoke quietly, "I saw them save the world".

"You helped us save the world, Lukey boy!" the Doctor grinned at him, leaning towards him, and lightly slapping his cheeks affectionately before pulling back, the Hatter laughed slightly as Luke blinked slightly, "Right!" he grabbed the Time Lady's hand, turning to leave the room, "Come on, we can use the TARDIS," they started to run towards the door when he suddenly paused and spun back around to face them, eyeing the three, "I assume everybody knows what the TARDIS is, unless you've really not been paying attention…" the three teenagers nodded, Clyde smirking again.

"Doctor, they're not you," the Hatter rolled her eyes, sounding amused as she nudged his side, "Honestly, was there ever a class in school you didn't try to sleep in at least once?"

He actually seemed to think about it before shaking his head, smiling broadly, "Nope," she shook her head fondly as he looked back to the kids, "And…Allons-y!" and with that, they were off running again, darting over to the doors that they had entered through, the teenager's right on their heels as they burst through the door, and back into the foyer…, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" he exclaimed in shock, stopping short as they realised that the TARDIS was missing, "It was there!" he practically gaped, looking at the Hatter, who was looking almost as shocked as him, "It was right there!"

The Time Lady frowned, titling her head thoughtfully, listening closely, "No, wait," she called to them, glancing at the Doctor, "Listen. It sounds like…"

He paused, listening before breaking into a grin, "The TARDIS!" he cheered as the sound of the TARDIS materialising sounded throughout the room, and they took a small step back as a faint outline of the time machine appeared in front of them.

"That noise," Rani breathed, her eyes widening as she stared at the struggling TARDIS, "I've heard it before".

"That was us," the blonde informed them, her eyes fixed in front of her, frowning slightly, "We were trying to break through, but the Trickster kept knocking us back with a quite strong and powerful little energy field".

"Temporal schism is preventing TARDIS materialisation," K9 announced from behind them, and the Time Lords nodded along with him.

"Wait a minute…_that's_ the TARDIS?" Clyde pointed at the machine, sounding highly unimpressed and disappointed, "It's just a wooden box!" he sighed.

"Oi, Mini-Doctor, don't talk about the old girl like that," the Hatter scolded him lightly, casting him a stern look, "You won't win any favours from here, I assure you".

The Doctor and Clyde looked at her, raising there eyebrows in confusion, "'Mini-Doctor?'"

She shrugged, smiling cheekily, "Oh, I'm sorry, but I thought I was seeing double for a moment there with the similar outfits," she replied.

The Doctor and Clyde glanced at each other, before the Doctor shook his head, seeming amused as he turned back to the TARDIS, "Come on, you can do it!" he called to the machine, trying to encourage it, as if that might actually work to break the time machine through, "More power! Come on!" but it was no use, and the TARDIS faded completely, "Okay, got no TARDIS," he sighed, slipping his hands inside his trouser pockets as he and the Hatter turned back around to face the teenagers, "It can't materialise here until time moves forward".

The Hatter patted his arm gently, knowing how much he must be missing having the TARDIS around, giving him a comforting smile.

"What, so we're trapped here?" Rani's eyes winded, "Wherever this is?"

"Not at all," the Time Lady shook her head, turning her comforting smile onto the kids, trying to keep them calm and focused, "Because we have K9…"

"Affirmative," K9 agreed.

"And then there's you three brilliant kids," she looked back to them happily, linking her arm through the Doctor's, "And the Doctor and I have each other".

The Doctor nodded, grinning broadly, "And any friend of Sarah Jane Smith is a friend of ours," he finished.

Clyde frowned, still not seeming completely convinced, "But where is this?" he asked, gesturing around them, "What's happened to the rest of the world?"

"Our present location: nowhere, no when," K9 informed them.

"No when?" Luke repeated.

The Time Lords looked across the room to where a clock was hanging on the wall behind the receiving desk of the hotel, "Look at the clocks".

The teenagers turned and followed there gaze, staring up at the clock, watching as the same second continued ticking over and over again.

"Time's stopped," Luke realised, his mouth falling open slightly.

"What?" Clyde blinked, startled as he checked his own wrist watch, "You're joking," he breathed, his head snapping back up to the main clock once he found the same result.

"No…" he paused, thinking carefully as the Hatter smiled slowly at him, giving him an encouraging look. She had always loved watching children learn, it was such an amazing thing to witness, and had almost become a teacher because of that alone, but she suspected that if she had tried to, the Academy would have found some way to avoid taking her on. She doubted they would have wanted her influencing the next generation of young minds, "Time hasn't stopped," he continued, his eyes drifting down to where a small TV was playing a horserace, the horses jumping over the same jump, "This second's on a loop," he looked back over to a second, digital clock, finding it with the same result, "Twenty three seconds and twenty three minutes past three".

The Hatter smiled broadly, "Oh, well done," she stepped over to him, patting him on the arm.

The Doctor nodded, "And we're caught inside it," he added, "In this one second".

"But…again, where is Sarah Jane?" Clyde questioned, frowning as he looked at the Time Lords.

The Time Lords exchanged looks, taking deep breaths as they looked around, "We think she's right here," they answered.

For a long moment, no one moved, until the Doctor shook his head and walked over towards where a sofa was sitting, slipping his glasses on as he knelt on the floor, and pressed his ear to the floor once more as the Hatter wondered around the room, pausing here and there to examine an object, before moving to something else.

"So we've been kept behind in this second…" Rani began slowly, looking thoughtful as she watched the Time Lords.

"Affirmative Mistress Rani," K9 responded, and she glanced at him.

"But the rest of the world, Mum and Dad and everyone else, they've moved on from here, forwards in time," she reasoned, turning to the Time Lords, "Why has the Trickster trapped us here?"

The Doctor popped up from the floor, slipping his glasses off, "Oh, come on, Rani, you know the answer to that".

"Think about it," the Hatter encouraged her, giving her a smile as she turned around from examining a stature.

"We're Sarah Jane's friends, all of us," she realised, "Her _best_ friends…" she trailed off as it suddenly dawned on her.

The Doctor straightened and pulled off his coat, seeming to debate with himself for a moment before shrugging, and tossing it to Luke, who blinked in surprise as he caught it, watching as the Doctor jogged up a couple of steps on the main staircase, "Yeah, which means…?" he called back down.

"Hostages! He can use us to get to her!"

"Well done, Rani!" the Hatter grinned at her proudly.

Clyde frowned, shaking his head, "We've meet the Trickster before, but we've never found out who he is," he remarked, looking questioningly at the Time Lords.

"The Trickster is a creature from beyond the Universe," the Doctor explained grimly, walking back down the stairs, "Forever trying to break in to our reality, manifest himself".

"He's a part of a group called the Pantheons of Discords," the Hatter added, sighing slightly.

"That's a good name for a band," Clyde commented thoughtfully as Rani laughed slightly.

The Time Lords exchanged looks, nodding as they actually considered it for a moment, "Yeah, actually, not bad," but they quickly turned serious once more, taking on a darker tone, "He's an external exile, who exists to wreak havoc," they looked back to the kids, returning back to their bright, cheery selves once more, the Doctor clapping Clyde on his shoulder, "But we can fight him, the six of us! And we can win!" the Doctor reached inside his pocket and pulled out his sonic as it began beeping, "Oh!" he exclaimed, breaking into a broad grin as he held up the device, "Ha, that's it!"

"A time trace!" the Hatter smiled brightly, looking excited as the beeping continued, "Brilliant. Just a hint of Sarah Jane".

The Doctor blinked slightly, eyeing the sonic, "Ooh, she's close," he climbed on top of one of the sofa's, holding the sonic up close to his eyes, while the teenagers stood around him, watching curiously, the Hatter titling her head thoughtfully.

Rani shivered suddenly and the Time Lady cast her a concerned look, "What was that?" she asked, frowning as she rubbed her arms, "Felt like someone just walked over my grave".

"Or through you," the blonde said slowly, her eyes looking at Rani intently, or more accurately, the place she was standing, "Doctor, sonic the spot, please".

The Doctor looked over to them, when the sonic suddenly began practically buzzing loudly it was beeping so quickly, "Oh!" he cried excitedly, and he leaped off the top of the couch, moving over to where they were all gathered, "Oh, oh! She's here! She's here!" the Hatter grinned broadly, "Sarah!"

"Sarah _Jane_," Rani corrected him quietly, "She doesn't like being called Sarah".

The Time Lords glanced at her, the Time Lady looking slightly amused, "She does by us," they replied as the beeping continued, seeming to increase, "K9!"

K9 rolled forwards, "Scanning, Master, Mistress".

"Doctor, Hatter!" suddenly, a feint echo sounded, seeming to be coming from over towards the front doors.

"Mum!" Luke shouted urgently as they raced over to the doors, staring at them with wide eyes.

"That was her!" Clyde agreed.

"Isolate the time trace, K9!" the Hatter ordered quickly.

"Affirmative, Mistress".

Another echo sounded, this time as if the front doors had been closed.

The Doctor dropped to the floor beside K9, tapping his head as the beeping of the sonic slowed, and stopped completely, "K9!"

"Temporal schism divided in two, Master".

"Yes, of course," the Time Lords breathed in realisation, exchanging looks as they glanced back at the confused looking teenagers, "We're trapped here in 3:23:23, and Sarah Jane's trapped too, just in another second," they sighed.

"Hold on…" Clyde cut in, "You said you would explain later…well, it's later," he, Rani, and Luke crossed their arms across there chest, giving the Time Lords looks, "Please explain".

The Hatter sighed heavily again, "Okay," she nodded, thinking carefully of just how to explain it to them without worry them too much, "The Trickster, he doesn't want us to help Sarah, and so he's separated us from her, trapping us in two different seconds," she shook her head, "Clever really, but so are we".

"Doctor, Hatter!" Sarah's voice echoed from somewhere above them, causing them to all look up.

"Oh, oh, she's upstairs!" the Doctor stood quickly, staring up at the ceiling, "Come on," he grabbed the Hatter's hand, pointing at Luke, "Luke, K9, watch for the TARDIS, you see it coming back, shout the place down," he instructed.

K9 nodded, "Orders accepted, Master".

"Clyde, Rani, with us!" the Hatter called to them as she and the Doctor began running towards the staircase.

"Spit spot!" the Doctor added as the two teenagers quickly followed after them as they ran upstairs.

"Hey, that's meant to be my line," the Time Lady shoot him a look.

"Exactly how many characters have you had a hand in inspiring? I mean, there was Dumbledore's sister…"

"I only suggested a few names…"

"And then there was Alice in Wonderland".

"Now, that's not completely true," she argued, feeling her face flush, "So, I might have helped a little, but it was Alice who was the inspiration for that. I mean, she was the one who inspired Carroll to write the character Alice in the first place…"

"Wait," Rani cut in, her eyes widening slightly as she looked from the Hatter to the Doctor, "Do you mean Alice Liddell?"

The Hatter hesitated, avoiding the two curious teenager's eyes, "Ah…not quite…"

Luckily, she was saved from having to admit to just how much she and her companions had accidently influenced her favourite book as they raced through a door on the second floor, only to find themselves in the wedding room once more. The Time Lords exchanged looks, knowing that it was the Trickster's doing.

"How did we end up here again?" Rani asked, frowning as she looked around the room.

"It's a spatial loop mixed up with a temporal loop," Clyde told her as the Time Lords paused in there wondering around the room, glancing back at him in surprise.

"How did you work that out?" she looked at him, raising her eyebrows.

He smirked almost smugly, slipping his hands into his pockets, "Well, we've been doing this for a well now," he replied, "I have taken notes".

The Hatter laughed softly, nudging the Doctor's side, "Oh, look. He not only dresses like you, but he can actually speak like you, too. Not to mention that hint of an ego…"

"We're _not_ that alike," the Doctor tried to argue, running a hand through his hair as he cast a thoughtful look over to the boy in question.

"_Of course_ he isn't, sweetheart," the Time Lady nodded, humouring him as a smile spread across her face, "I have no idea what came over me".

He gave her a look, but the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement before they both turned serious once more, focusing on the main issue at hand. Finding Sarah Jane.

"Come on, come on, come on, Sarah," he murmured, looking around carefully, "Let us find you".

The Time Lords wondered further down the room.

"Hang on, though…" Rani shook her head, "This is mad," she frowned as she and Clyde slowly moved further into the room, the Time Lady careful to make sure that she didn't move to far away from the two teenagers, just in case, "The Trickster, he's this all-powerful immortal who wants to cause chaos throughout the stars…and he wants Sarah Jane to get married," she looked at the Time Lords, confused, "What does he get out of that?"

The Hatter glanced at them, titling her head, "Perhaps he's sentimental?" she suggested jokingly, before shaking her head with a sigh, "Oh, if only".

The Doctor moved towards the front of the room, reaching inside his pocket, and pulling out his sonic again, the Time Lady, and the teenagers following after him as he clicked the sonic, "She's here," he remarked as the sonic beeped again, concentrating, "If I can narrow the link ratio…"

"Doctor, Hatter!" a voice called from behind them, and they spun around to find the Trickster standing at the other end of the room, wearing a black, hooded robe, rather than white.

"Ah," the Doctor eyed him, slipping his sonic back inside his pocket, "You look better in black…or is while the new black?" he wondered aloud, glancing at the Hatter.

The Time Lady gave him a look, "Talking to a woman wearing a rainbow bowtie and braces," she reminded him, sounding amused as she gestured down herself, "Not the best person to be asking about fashion".

He glanced at her, his eyes lingering on the bowtie for a moment, and seemed to struggle not to burst out laughing, "Probably right," he commented quietly, the blonde narrowed her eyes at him.

"At last," the Trickster began as the Time Lords stepped closer towards him, the Hatter, putting herself in front of Clyde and Rani, "Doctor, Hatter, I could feel this moment reverberating back through the ages. The meeting of the Pantheon of Discord and the last two Time Lords…" he gave them a mocking bow as they came to a stop in front of him.

The Doctor looked at him carefully, "We've known the legends of the Pantheon since we were little kids," he remarked as the Time Lady nodded, recalling being told the stories as only a Time Tot. She had to admit that they gave her nightmares for two weeks, "We've fought your shadows and your changelings," he continued, "I never thought we'd actually meet".

"And I know the legends of the Doctor and Hatter," the Trickster replied, seeming to be looking at them almost in admiration, "A man and woman of ice and fire, who walked among gods, who once held the Key of Time in their hands…" he smirked, seeming to be mocking them almost as he glanced behind the Hatter to Clyde and Rani, "Now they are surrounded by children".

"Never underestimate the minds of children," the Hatter crossed her arms across her chest, giving the Trickster a cold look, "They're our friends".

"Which reminds me," the Doctor cut in, "You've looking a bit lonely for a Pantheon," he raised his eyebrows at him, giving him a fake pout of sympathy.

"I embody multitudes".

"Oh…" the Doctor scoffed slightly, neither him, nor the Hatter believing him for a second. They knew what loneliness looked like better than anyone.

"And who are you, the man and woman who has lost almost everybody, to talk to me of loneliness," if he had eyes, the Time Lady was certain he would have been glaring at them, "When the Gate is waiting for you?"

The blonde swallowed and glanced worriedly at the Doctor as he seemed to notice just what he had said, too, and took his hand, holding it tightly, "What do you mean by that, exactly?" she asked, turning back to him, frowning.

The Trickster laughed, sending a cold shiver down the Hatter's spine, "Sarah Jane Smith is my prize," he ignored her question as the Time Lords eyed him, "Even you, Doctor and Hatter, didn't realise how wonderful she is".

"Don't you dare…" the Hatter took a step towards him, her temper flaring, but the Doctor held her back. One thing that she couldn't stand for, was for people to try and accuse her or the Doctor for not realising just how special the people they loved were, because it couldn't be further from the truth.

"What do you _want_ with her?" he demanded angrily, seeming to be only just restraining himself, too as he grasped the Time Lady's hand tighter.

"What I always want from any of those I visit. Her agreement. Goodbye, Doctor and Hatter…"

And with that, he vanished in a swirl of energy.

"Her agreement," the Time Lords repeated, staring at the spot he had just vanished from, their minds racing when it suddenly hit them. Of course, the wedding! "The power of words…she says I do, and…yes!" they exclaimed, spinning around to Rani and Clyde, "That's it!"

The two teenagers stared at them, seeming completely baffled, "That's what?" Clyde frowned.

"Think about it!" the Hatter told them quickly, talking fast, almost jumping on the spot from excitement, "It's the wedding! And what's a part of that wedding…" she didn't wait for them to answer, her mind racing to quickly for her to stop, "Vowels! Promises to love and honour her husband, and then…"

"The wedding ring goes on," the Doctor nodded quickly, following her train of thought, his own mind racing as he looked at the teenagers, "And then she's agreed to it! She's totally under the Trickster's power".

The Time Lady winced slightly, just thinking about how horrible the whole thing actually was, especially for Sarah Jane and Peter, "And then while she's happily married, she forgets all about this," she continued, gesturing around them and to the teenagers, "A brand new life".

Rani's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes widening in horror, "Forgetting about her old life…protecting Earth," she breathed.

"And the plant's wide open, so aliens can just…barge in?" Clyde realised, looking just as horrified as Rani.

The Time Lords nodded along with them, "Without Sarah, without you lot saving the world from your attic in Ealing…there'll be chaos and destruction. Meat and drink to the Trickster".

"As if she's gonna say 'yes,'" Clyde shook his head, giving them a small smile, but it didn't quite cover up just how worried he actually was.

"But she will, won't she?" the Doctor replied grimly, "Because we're here".

Suddenly, the sound of the TARDIS engines sounded, causing them to all look over to where a blue haze had appeared a short distance away from them, and the Time Lords broke into delighted grins, rushing over to it.

"TARDIS!" they exclaimed happily, "Beautiful!" the outline of the TARDIS began to grow stronger, they could even make out the windows of the door now, "Yes! It's homing in on me!"

"Emergency programing," the Hatter called over the noise of the wheezing, grinning broadly, "It's to protect the pilot, and I suppose those accompany the pilot!"

"Of course!" the Doctor smiled brightly, wrapping his arm around the Time Lady as Clyde and Rani smiled, "Partial materialisation!"

Luke ran into the room, obviously having heard the TARDIS, "What's happening?" he asked as he reached them, the wind of the materialisation ruffling their hair.

The Hatter put out her arm out to keep the teenagers back so that they wouldn't get hurt as the TARIDS fully appeared before them.

"Look!" the Doctor looked at the kids, nodding to the crackling bright blue energy that was running around the edges of the time machine, an after effect of having pushed the old girl so hard through the Trickster's barrier, "That's pure Artron energy," he grinned, "TARDIS power!"

"Meaning, it's both the opposite _and_ the equal to the Trickster's power!" the Hatter informed them, "And that's what we're going to need to fight him!"

The Time Lord rushed forward, the Doctor grabbing his key out of his pocket, and slipping it into the lock, throwing the door open as he and the Hatter raced inside, reaching back out for the kids, holding on to the door frame to try and steady themselves.

"Doctor, Hatter!" Rani cried as she, Clyde, and Luke struggled to stay standing from the strength of the wind.

"Come on, all of you!" the Time Lords shouted to them, knowing that they didn't have long, "Get in! Come on, now!"

Clyde, struggling against the wind, reached out and towards their hands, Rani and Luke grabbing his other hand to form a train. The Doctor managed to grab his hand, the Time Lady trying to keep him steady as he tried to pull them all inside, but the wind was to strong, and it pushed the Time Lords back further into the console, causing the Doctor to lose his grip of Clyde, and the door slammed shut behind them as they were sent flying backwards from the force, coming to land sprawled painfully for a second time that day on their backs on the console floor, the sound of something hard thumping into the closed door.

"No!" the Hatter groaned as she struggled to pull herself upright, her hat toppling off, but it was too late. The TARDIS had already dematerialised, leaving the three teenagers behind.

….

The Doctor and the Hatter raced around the controls, trying to break through, when the Hatter noticed the readings on the monitor.

"Sweetheart, Clyde's keeping the Trickster busy!" she called around the Time Rotor to him, feeling both impressed and worried for the boy, "The readings are picking up Artron energy," her eyes widened as she grew even more worried, "He must have got a shot of it when we took off".

"He'll be okay," the Doctor assured her gently, knowing how worried she had been since they had left the kids behind, "Sarah's taught them all".

She sighed heavily, but nodded, giving him a small smile, "I know, but that doesn't make it any easier".

"But it does mean we can break through!" he grinned broadly as he pulled a lever, and the TARDIS landed back in the wedding room, but this time Sarah and Peter were standing there. They exchanged delighted looks and ran to the doors, throwing them open, "Sarah!" they called in unison.

Sarah Jane turned to face them, gasping in relief as she stepped towards them, "Doctor, Hatter," she breathed.

"Sorry, but we don't have much time!" the Hatter called to her, pleased to see that she and Peter looked unhurt, but then she supposed that the Trickster would hardly go to all the trouble just to hurt them, "The old girl can't stabilise," she sighed, casting a look around the doorframe.

"Clyde's keeping the Trickster busy for the moment," the Doctor informed her, giving her a grin, "Oh, those three are just _brilliant_!"

"What can I do?" Sarah asked them desperately, tears filling up in her eyes, "If I say 'no,' we're trapped here forever. If I say 'yes,' I condemn the world to the Trickster," she shrugged sadly, her voice trembling, "Either way I lose. There's no way out".

"Oh, Sarah," the Time Lady shook her head sadly, wishing with both her hearts that she could simply reach out and hug her, "I am so, _so_ sorry".

The Doctor nodded solemnly, "Your greatest challenge," he added, meeting her eyes, "The hardest thing you'll ever face in your life".

"What is it? Tell me what I've got to do".

"You've fought the Trickster before, you know how he operates…" their eyes moved over her shoulder to rest on Peter, who was staring at the scene before him, "…how he can be defeated…" they finished grimly.

"No…" Sarah breathed, looking over to Peter, shaking her head mournfully as she looked back to them, "No…"

"Oh, Sarah," the Hatter swallowed thickly, hating having to witness her in so much pain as her eyes moved over to Peter, "We're so, so, so sorry Peter, you're a good man, I can tell".

A look of understanding seemed to pass Peter's face as his eyes flickered to Sarah, just as a cry of pain echoed through the room, causing them to all look over to the other side of the room to see Clyde fighting the Trickster appear in the room, Artron energy crackling loudly, their hands locked.

"Clyde!" Sarah cried at the sight.

"I can't hold it!" the Doctor shouted, slamming the door as the TARDIS disappeared.

They raced up to the console and over to the monitor, but there was nothing more they could do. It was up to Sarah…well, actually, Peter, really, now, and they could only watch as everything unfolded. Tears welled up in the Time Lady's eyes as they watched Sarah talking to Peter, trying to convince him to end his deal, as she worked out what had happened to him, explaining to Peter that the Trickster could only appear to those who were about to die.

It was heartbreaking watching as Sarah Jane was forced to convince the man she loved to give up his own life, and the Hatter turned away, unable to bear watching and wrapped her arms around the Doctor, burying her face into his neck, tears slipping down her cheeks, and he hugged her back just as tightly. A moment past and the TARDIS jolted suddenly, causing them to almost lose their balance as they let go of each other, and looked at the screen to see that Peter had broken his deal. It was over.

Immediately, they landed the TARDIS in the foyer of the hotel, and ran out to find Rani and Luke, both looking very worried, standing there with K9. The Time Lords didn't say anything as they raced past them, knowing that they would follow, and over to the doors leading into the wedding room, and threw them open. Sarah Jane was kneeling on the floor at the front of room, tears running down her face as she cradled Clyde's head, who was unconscious, in her lap.

"Mum!" Luke called as soon as he spotted her, racing to meet her, falling to his knees beside her, Rani knelt on the other side of her, looking worriedly down at Clyde.

Sarah looked up at the sound of his voice, seeming slightly startled, sobbing faintly, "Luke," she breathed, her voice trembling as she looked over to the Time Lords, who had stepped back to let her be with the teenagers, "Doctor and Hatter," she sobbed and they immediately went to her side, falling to their knees on either side of her, and wrapping their arms around her, the Time Lady placing a soft kiss to the top of her head, "Oh, Doctor and Hatter…"

"My Sarah Jane," the Doctor murmured to her, pulling her close to him, "You did it, the traps broken, time's moving forwards again…"

The entire room began shaking as Clyde woke up, blinking in confusion as the Hatter wrapped her arm around Luke, the Doctor doing the same with Rani, protecting them, while her other arm rubbed soothing circles on Sarah's back, "We're going home, everyone," she told them all over the sound of the shaking.

"Hold on!" Luke said loudly.

"We're all going home!" the Doctor agreed.

A bright white light blinded them all as it filled the room, energy washing over them…

…

The TARDIS materialised in Sarah Jane's attic, surprising Sarah and the teenagers as they gathered together, their eyes widening as they turned to face the front doors.

"Doctor!" Sarah gasped, just as the doors opened, and the Time Lords appeared in the doorway, giving them smiles.

"What did you take us for, Sarah?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows playfully at her as the Hatter took note of the lack of wedding dress, her once styled hair now messy, and falling out of its bun, "Just thought we'd go the quick way…ooh," his eyes moved around the attic, taking in everything, nodding in approval, "I like it in here".

The Hatter rolled her eyes at him in mild annoyance, pushing him out of the way, "Stop babbling, sweetheart, and more hugging," she scolded him lightly and flew out of the door and down a few steps, practically throwing her arms around Sarah in a massive hug, "Shh, everything's going to be okay," she whispered soothingly into her ear, hugging her tighter as she felt Sarah's started trembling, knowing very well that she was only just containing her tears, probably not wanting the kids to see, "I promise, it will get better, and you are so strong," she smiled at her proudly as she pulled back, gently wiping Sarah's tears away.

Sarah Jane smiled softly in return, she could always count on the Time Lady to try to make her feel better, and she was even starting to feel a little lighter. The Doctor watched them fondly, pleased to see that throughout all the years, they had still remained just as close, if not closer, then they had been when Sarah had been travelling with him.

The Time Lady grinned broadly, giving her a wink as she whirled away from her, but slipped her arm through hers instead, her eyes moving around the room, "Ooh, yes, very nice, almost reminds me of my old Tardis…only smaller," she nodded, her eyes lighting up as she eyed Mr Smith, who was up and running again, "Hello, you must be Mr Smith, yes?" she asked him, already knowing the answer.

"Pleasure to meet you," the computer responded in a calm males voice.

"The pleasure is all mine," she assured him sincerely.

Rani eyed the TARDIS curiously, "Can we have a look?" she asked eagerly.

The Doctor looked at her quickly, "What, in the TARDIS?" he asked and the teenagers nodded, "_My_ TARDIS?" he repeated louder, sounding angry, and the Hatter struggled to hold back a laugh, knowing he was just messing with them as the kids suddenly looked a little worried, even Sarah was frowning at him, "Course you can, yeah," he nodded, his voice turning light as he stepped to the side, smiling widely, and sending the Time Lady a wink.

Unable to stop herself, she burst out laughing as the teenagers exchanged looks, realising what had happened, and ran up towards the time machine as Sarah shook her head fondly, "You would think I would know when you two are teasing by now," she remarked quietly to the Time Lady as they followed at a slower pace, arms still interlocked.

"Oh, perish the thought," she giggled, giving her a wink as they stepped through the TARDIS doorway, watching the kids fondly as they looked around the console room in wounder. She cast the Doctor a sideways look, raising an eyebrow, "Nicely done, sweetheart," she murmured to him, to low even for Sarah to hear.

A cheeky smirk spread across his face, "Dad skills," he whispered back, winking, causing her to laugh again.

"Oh…wow," Clyde exclaimed in amazement, looking up at the Time Rotor, "It really is, isn't it?" he glanced at Rani as they moved around the console, "It's bigger on the inside".

"It's beautiful," Rani smiled, moving away from the controls, and over to Luke, who was leaning close to a set of cables that where running all around the edge of the walls.

Luke grinned at her, still amazed of it himself despite having seen it before, "Tradscendental dimensions," he told her, sounding almost weak at the knees with the science.

The Time Lords and Sarah watched happily as the teenagers found their way back to the console, staring at all the buttons and levers.

"Wow, what does this do?" Clyde asked suddenly, reaching towards a lever as Luke and Rani gathered around him.

"Hey, don't touch," Sarah called to them sternly, cutting the Time Lords off from there explanation, glancing at her. The kids drew back slightly, seeming a little disappointed, but nodded anyway and went back to exploring the rest of the room as she turned to the Time Lords, "You came all that way for me?" she questioned them quietly.

The Time Lords broke into matching grins, the Time Lady nudging her side, there arms still interlocked, "You're so important," they told her in unison, meaning every word, "Not just to us. The Trickster wanted to end your story, but it goes on," the teenagers moved closer to them, listening, "The things you've done, Sarah, they're pretty impressive, but…ooh, the things you're going to do…" he trailed off, smiling proudly.

"The future…" Luke remarked, smiling as he glanced at them, "How 'bout we could go for a ride?"

"Or back," Clyde added quickly, looking eager, "To the dinosaurs, yeah?"

"Or another planet…" Rani suggested hopefully as the Time Lords exchanged looks, about to agree when…

"No way," Sarah cut across them, giving the teenagers another stern look, "For one thing, you were grounded by the Judoon," she nodded to Clyde and Rani, who looked down in defeat, the Doctor looked at them, startled, as the Hatter made a mental note to tell him about that story, "And your parents would never forgive me," she continued, gesturing with her head towards the doors, "Go on".

The teenagers cast one last look around the control room as the Hatter let go of Sarah to give them each a hug, including Clyde, who tried hard to avoid her but still wasn't quite quick enough for the experienced Time Lady, who was more than accustomed to getting a hug out of those who didn't want, or at the least pretended not to want a hug, watching as they filed out.

The Time Lords moved to lean there backs against the console as Sarah Jane turned back to them once the doors had closed, "Is this the last time I've ever going to see you?" she asked after a moment, eyeing them both closely.

The Hatter took the Doctor's hand, holding it tightly as he remained silent for a long time, "I don't know," he eventually replied softly, "We hope not," he tried to smile.

Sarah's face fell slightly as she seemed to struggle for a moment, before fixing a happy smile to her face, "Goodbye, Doctor and Hatter," she nodded slowly, quickly adding, "Until the next time".

"Don't forget us, Sarah Jane," the Doctor called after her as she turned to leave, strangely reminded of their first departure, only it was the other way around then, and the Hatter hadn't been there.

She broke into a broad smile as she looked at them both, "No one's ever going to forget you two," she assured them.

"Oh, Sarah," the Hatter grinned and moved towards her, giving her one final hug, before pulling back, "Now, you look after yourself, keep up the good work, and have fun," she instructed her firmly, making the other woman laugh, "And not necessarily in that order," she added with a mockingly stern point of her finger.

"I will, I promise," Sarah agreed, giving the Doctor a quick hug herself, before she turned around and walked down the ramp, and out the doors, closing them behind her.

The Time Lords exchanged fond smiles as they moved back to the controls, and dematerialised into the Time Votex, before collapsing on the console chair, the Doctor wrapping his arms around the Time Lady as she leaned her head on to his shoulder.

"You know, it was nice to have kids in here, wasn't it?" she commented quietly, almost laughing as the Doctor almost fall off the edge of the seat in shock, but luckily for both of them he managed to steady himself before they both ended up back on the floor for a third time that day.

"Kids?" he repeated, wide eyed as he glanced down at her, "In the TARDIS?"

This time she did laughed, "Oh, stop looking so adorably panicked, sweetheart," she told him lightly, obviously highly amused as she climbed on to her feet, and began heading off towards the rest of the time machine, "I was just making an observation," she called over her shoulder, shrugging with a teasing smile, "Besides, three isn't nearly enough, I think _five_ ought to do it".

"What?" he yelped and actually did fall off the chair, landing with a heavy crash on the grating as the Time Lady burst out laughing to the point she was almost clutching her sides, having expected the reaction, but actually seeing it happen was better than imagining it.

"Kidding!" she grinned wickedly, turning on her heel, and skipped away, still laughing as she could hear the sounds of the Doctor cursing softly in Gallifreyan carry after her.

_**Poor Doctor, you would think he would be able to recognise the Hatter's teasing by now. Still, where would be the fun in that? Oh, dear, the last few chapters of Ten are next, is going to be so hard to have write, but I suppose that it will be fun to have Eleven. Anyway, tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest reviews:**_

_**Guest (1): **__**And you've asked the questioning that I've been thinking about myself for months now, will the Time Lords have any kids? Well, even if I did know that for certain, I couldn't say. Spoilers! But I will say that I love the idea of a pregnant Hatter, I can just imagine her having the worst mood swings and eating some of the strangest concoctions, but it really depends on the story, and if it feels right. Still, I'm curious to know what people might think about bringing kids into the story? Anyway, thanks for the review :)**_

_**Guest (2): **__**Sadly, all the Hatter's children and Grandchild were in fact killed. I would love to say otherwise, but I really can't imagine that if one of them did live somehow, that she wouldn't have sensed them. I would like to think that one day the Doctor will look back and see not all the pain in his past, but rather all the good he's done, but I'm not sure if he will ever be able to do that. I think there's just too much pain and guilt there, and as for if the Hatter would be able to help him, I think that there's even to much pain and guilt for her to help him there, but I would like to think that she's helped him to move past some of that, and made him happier. And Jenny, I love Jenny, and I would bring her back in a moment if I could, but I'm still hoping Moffat might bring her back, since he was the one who wanted her to live and we all know how long it can take for one of his plots to be resolved, so, sadly, we won't be seeing Jenny. Thanks for the review :)**_

_**Guest (3): **__**I know almost nothing about the audio adventures which is a massive shame because he had so many companions traveling with him, but If I ever managed to get my hands onto any of them I'll certainly keep that in mind. That definitely would be interesting to see, I can just imagine the Hatter being so upset and angry with herself for not being able to help the Doctor. Thanks for the review :)**_

_**The Mediator: **__**Aww, I'm so happy you liked it, I was so nervous writing the wedding and after party that it ended up taking two more day's then it should have because I just kept researching little things here and there to try and make it accurate. River showing up would have to be among one of my favourite parts to write, and to think I almost didn't write it. Thank you for the review :)**_


	10. Chapter 10The End of Time (1), Part one

_**The End of Time (1), Part one **_

The TARDIS materialised on the snowy Ood Sphere in front of Ood Sigma and the Time Lords opened the doors, stepping out as it snowed faintly, looking around. The Doctor was wearing his brown suit, but with a flower necklace hanging around his neck, a straw cowboy hat, and sunglasses, while the Time Lady was wearing a pair of rainbow framed sunglasses, with a matching flower necklace of her own proudly on display around her neck.

They had tried to avoid coming to the Ood Sphere ever since Ood Sigma's appearance outside Adelaide's house, and had managed to do so by going on numerous adventures, but soon enough the Hatter was forced to convince the Doctor that they couldn't spend the rest of their lives running, as much as they might like to do, and set a course to meet with him…after a few stop offs, of course. Oh, and there wedding and honeymoon.

"Ah!" the Doctor grinned, looking over to Ood Sigma, "Now, sorry. There you are," he closed the TARDIS doors, linking his arm through the Hatter's as they began to approach the Ood, who was simply watching them, "So, where were we?" he cast a look around the snowy landscape, sniffing slightly, "I was summoned, wasn't I? An Ood in the snow, calling to me. Well…" he dragged out the word, his grin turning playful, "We didn't exactly come straight here. Had a bit of fun, you know, travelled about, did this and that…"

"Got into a little trouble along the way," the Hatter remarked with a small smile, nudging the Doctor's side.

He laughed, nodding as he looked back to Sigma, "You know us," he grinned again, giving the Time Lady a wink, "It was brilliant. We saw the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestadt," he shrugged, "Saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Maw, named a galaxy Alison…"

The Time Lady's eyes brightened as she broke into a broad grin, "After my companion Alice," she cast the Doctor a look, rolling her eyes, scoffing slightly, "He wanted to name it Ariana".

"Hey, I think it's a pretty name!" he defended.

"Yeah, and the view from the sofa in the library is probably pretty, too," she replied, narrowing her eyes at him, practically daring him to try arguing with her on this, because as far as she was concerned there was no way she was going to name anything after herself. That was far too arrogant for her.

"Anyway!" the Doctor quickly turned back to the Ood, looking alarmed, "Got married…twice. The second time was a very, _very_ big mistake," he winced slightly, rubbing the back of his neck as the Hatter laughed, recalling the trip, "Good Queen Bess…" he shook his head, shooting a look at the Time Lady, "I still don't understand why you find it so amusing".

She laughed again, "Oh, it wasn't a real wedding," she smiled, obviously still very amused, "And seeing one of the most famous Queens in human history turning to mush over you was simply hilarious," she shrugged and held up her hand with her wedding and engagement ring twinkling on it, wigging her fingers at him when he still seemed unconvinced, "Besides, a Uniting ceremony outweighs any other wedding, but I suppose it was strange to see my husband being snogged by another woman…" she frowned slightly towards the end, lowering her arm back to her side.

"Ah, so it did have an effect of you!" he exclaimed, looking pleased, and the Time Lady raised her eyebrows at him before shaking her head, amused that he still seemed amazed at her lack of jealousy, "Anyway," he focused his attention back onto Ood Sigma as they came to a stop directly in front of him, "What do you want?"

Sigma held up his communication orb and it lit up as he spoke, "You should not have delayed," he told them.

The Time Lords nodded, growing serious, "The last time we were here you said my song would be ending soon," the Doctor reminded him, his tone grim, "And I'm in no hurry for that".

"You will come with me".

"Hold on, better lock the TARDIS," he reached inside his pocket for the key and pulled it out, pointing it back towards the time machine, and pressing a button. The light on top of it flashed twice as it beeped, sounding like a car being locked as he looked back to the Ood, smiling smugly, "See? Like a car," he waved the key around as the Time Lady coughed, struggling not to laugh, "I locked it like a car. Like…it's funny. No?" he glanced back at the TARDIS as Sigma simply looked unimpressed, "Little bit?" he tried again, but Sigma shook his head, and turned away, "Blimey, try to make an Ood laugh," he sighed, slipping the key back inside his pocket.

The Hatter smiled reassuringly at him, patting his arm, "There, there, sweetheart," she comforted him gently, making him look at her, "I thought it was clever".

His eyes brightened, "You did?"

"Oh, yes, just next time you might want to choose your audience better".

He grinned broadly and linked his arm through hers once more as they quickly followed after Sigma, catching up with him, "So how old are you now, Ood Sigma?" he asked him as he took off his hat, ruffling his hair, just as something caught his eyes ahead of them, "Ah!"

The Hatter followed his gaze and broke into a broad smile as she took in the sight of a large city built into the very sides of the rock between a crevice, several spiralling towers carved out of more rock with ice and snow covering it all, making it look almost magical as snowflakes continued to swirl around in the air around them, and from where they were standing, she could make out the figures of other Ood's walking around.

"Oh, this is beautiful," she commented brightly, her eyes taking it all in.

"Magnificent!" the Doctor laughed in agreement, breaking into a wide smile as he glanced at Sigma, nudging his arm with a slight eye roll when he didn't say anything, "Oh, come on,_ that _is…splendid," he nodded to the city.

The Time Lady sniffed the air curiously, frowning slightly as she sensed something…off, "Tell me, how long has it taken to build all of this?" she questioned, glancing at Sigma.

"One hundred years," he replied, lifting his orb.

Both Time Lords tensed, exchanging quick looks before looking back to the city, very, very concerned and worried, "Then we've got a problem," they informed him with frowns, "Because all of this is way too fast," they shook there heads, "Not just the city, we mean your ability to call us. Reaching all the way back to the twenty first century…something's accelerating your species way beyond normal".

"And the mind of the Ood is troubled," he nodded.

The Hatter looked at him in deep concern, "Oh, dear, what's happened?"

"Every night, Doctor and Hatter, every night we have bad dreams. Come".

Sigma turned and began to led them away from the sight of the city, passing more Ood as they moved towards a large cave that opened up into a tunnel, lit candles flickering along the edge of the stone walls as the Time Lords followed him, the Time Lady tucking her sunglasses inside her pockets as they did so, seeing as there was no point to wearing it inside a darkened cave, while the Doctor kept his on. Soon enough, the tunnel opened up into a much larger cave where several Ood in robes were gathered around a small table with incense burning in an enclosed pot, kneeling on the ground in the dimly lit space.

"Returning, returning, returning, it is slowly returning," the elder Ood, wearing a white robe, and sitting directly across from the pot called into the Time Lords minds, waving the smoke of the incense towards his face, "Through the dark and the fire and the blood. Always returning, returning to this world," the Time Lords exchanged concerned and confused looks, wondering exactly what was returning, "It is returning, and he is returning, and they are returning, but too late. Too late. Far too late. He has come," his voice breathed into there minds as all the Ood turned to look at them.

Whispers continued to echo around them as Sigma moved closer to the group, "Sit with the Elder Ood and share the dreaming," he instructed the Time Lords, gesturing to where the Ood's had made a gap large enough for them to sit in.

The Time Lords moved forward, the Doctor slipped off his sunglasses, both Time Lords lifting there flower necklaces over their heads, and popping them inside their pockets as they joined the circle, sitting down in the gap. They cast looks around at the Ood, who were all watching them, both feeling a little uncomfortable and even slightly nervous, but the curiosity for answers outweighed any nerves they felt.

"So…" the Doctor began slowly, almost awkwardly, "Right," he took a deep breath, fixing a smile to his face as he looked around at them all, "Hello".

The Time Lady winced slightly, shifting beside him, "Well…this is fun," she muttered to him, feeling a little unnerved by the entire thing.

"You will join," all the Ood began to chant at them, "You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join".

The Ood placed there hindbrain into their laps and joined hands, all the while the Time Lords watched on cautiously, exchanging a look. The Hatter, still unnerved, could only shrug in response as they took a deep breath, and took the Ood's offered hands. The moment they're hands touched, the Time Lords gasped and jolted, almost instantly snatching their hands back as an image of the Master, laughing madly, flashed through their minds.

"No," the Time Lady gasped, turning sickly pale as her eyes widened in horror, the sound of that awful laughter still ringing in her ears. She felt ill just hearing it as she glanced at the Doctor and she could tell he was having a similar reaction.

"He comes to us every night," the Elder Ood told them calmly, "I think all the peoples of the Universe dream of him now".

"That man is dead," the Doctor swallowed firmly, wanting to pull the Hatter closer to him, knowing that ever since The-Year-That-Never-Was, she had felt even more sensitive about the Master then any of her previous regenerations had, but as he made to reach for her hand, she flinched away.

The Hatter sighed heavily, casting him an apologetic look almost immediately as she realised what she had done, feeling guilt wash over her as she noticed the look of worry on his face, and knowing that he was no doubt feeling exactly the same way she was. That laughter was still ringing in her ears and she wished desperately that she could step outside to get some cold air on her face, feeling as if the walls and darkness of the cave were pushing in on her, but there was still more that they needed to know, and right now getting answers as to what was going on was far more important than any distress she was feeling. Lifesaving, perhaps.

"There is more yet," the Elder Ood contained, "Join us," the Ood offered the Time Lords their hand. They hesitated, both inhaling deeply, before they joined the circle again, "Events are taking shape. So many years ago, and yet changing the now. There is a man…"

The image of the Master flashed across their minds, still laughing.

"…so scared…"

An image of Wilf crossed their minds, sitting at his kitchen table with his hands clasped before him, looking worried and afraid as his hands moved to his mouth.

"Wilfred!" the Time Lords exclaimed in alarm, growing even more worried, "Is he all right? What about Donna, is she safe?"

"You should not have delayed, for the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth. Even now, the king is in his Counting house…"

A young woman and an older man, standing together as there pictures were taken, both looking satisfied flew through their minds, leaving the Time Lords frowning.

"We…I don't know who they are," the Doctor shook his head.

The Hatter's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, trying to match their faces, "Nor I," she eventually replied with a small sigh of frustration.

"And there is another," the Elder added, "The most lonely of all…lost and forgotten…"

The image changed and woman appeared in a darkened jail cell, crying softly as she sat on the edge of a bed. Lucy Saxon.

"The Master's wife," the Time Lady sighed sadly as the image faded, feeling her hearts go out to the woman, despite the fact that she had been the one who had shot her, thus resulting in her regeneration. She didn't blame her, not at all. She probably would have done the same thing in her situation, and Lucy was hardly in her right state of mind at the time, not after all that time having her mind influenced by the Master's.

"We see so much, but understand little," Sigma spoke up from behind the Time Lords, making them glance back at him, "The woman in the cage, who is she?"

"She…she…" the Doctor struggled to explain, turning back to the circle as all the Ood looked to them for answers, "…she was…it wasn't her fault…" he paused, taking a deep breath, "She was…the Master, he's a Time Lord, like us," he nodded to the Time Lady, glancing around as the Ood continued to look at them.

The Hatter hesitated, "We…we could always show you," she suggested wearily, really not wishing to relive everything from that awful year all over again, but if it meant that it helped, then she would do anything.

"Yes," he nodded quickly, sending her a comforting smile as he focused his mind on the memories, showing an image of the Master dancing through the conference room of the _Valiant_ and over to Lucy, kissing her, "The Master took the name of Saxon," he explained to the Ood, "He married a human woman, a woman called Lucy. And he corrupted her".

The memory changed to show the Master and Lucy, with the Hatter's Ninth self, looking utterly furious and close to tears as she was held by the Master, watching as the Toclafane were released onto the Earth. The blonde flinched, cringing as she recalled vividly that moment.

"She stood at his side while he conquered the Earth," he continued the explanation, his tone grim as the previous image faded from their minds, and the Time Lady relaxed slightly, "I…we reversed everything he'd done so it never even happened, but Lucy Saxon remembered…"

The sound of two gun shots echoed through their minds as the memory of the Master being shot and cradled the Doctor's arms flashed through their minds as he died, the Hatter relieved that her own death wasn't visible.

"I held him in my arms…" the memory faded and was replaced by another, this time showing the Doctor setting the pyre with the Master's body on top of it on fire, "…I burnt his body. The Master is dead!"

"And yet, you did not see…" the Elder Ood told them.

The memory continued, showing the Doctor walking away from the burning pyre, just as something fell from the flames, landing on the ground.

"What's that?" the Time Lords frowned, their eyes widening slightly as they realised what it was. A ring, the Master's Gallifreyan signet ring.

As they watched, an older woman's hand reached down and picked the ring up as the Master's laughter rang through their minds, clutching the ring in her hand as if it was something precious.

"Part of him survived!" the Hatter gasped, horrified as her head snapped to the Doctor, seeing the same horror she felt written across his face.

"We have to go!" the Doctor tried to stand, growing almost frantic, but the Ood's pulled him back, holding both him and the Time Lady tighter, preventing them from escaping the circle.

"But something more is happening," the Elder informed them calmly as they looked around them, desperate to get back to the TARDIS, "The Master is part of a greater design," they struggled, trying to pull away, "Because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark," the Ood's head snapped up, their eyes glowing bright red, "The Ood have gained this power to see through time, because time is bleeding. Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil, and these events from years ago threaten to destroy the future, and the present, and the past".

The Time Lady swallowed thickly, glancing around the circle, "What does that mean?" she asked, a touch of fear entering her tone.

"This is what we have seen. The darkness herald's only one thing," all the Ood began to speak in unison, "The end of time itself".

They released there hold on the Time Lords hands and they bolted up as the Master's laughter rang through their heads, pushing them to run even faster away from the circle, back up through the tunnel, and out of the cave.

"Events that have happened are happening now," the Ood breathed into their minds.

The Time Lords ran across the snow, trying desperately to ignore the laughter still ringing through their minds as they raced back to the TARDIS, the Doctor pulling out his key and clicking the button, causing it to beep again, and they threw themselves inside the console room. The Doctor pulled his coat off and tossed it over the Y-beam, before joining the Hatter at the controls, pulling levers and buttons as they took off into the Time Vortex.

Sparks flew, but they ignored them, hardly seeming to notice as they simply continued. The Hatter grabbed the monitor, checking the results, and was slightly startled to find that the scanner was going wild. Definitely not a good sign.

They quickly locked onto Lucy and materialised, exchanging a quick look as they ran over to the doors, threw them open, and raced out to find themselves looking up at the rubble remains of a large brick building, the roof and half the top floor missing, bits of brick littering the footpath around where they stood, even the large metal gates had been ripped apart, and police tape had been put up around the destroyed building.

The Hatter closed her eyes, knowing that they were too late, far too late to stop the Master's return, before opening them again. She cast her eyes over to the rubble and she noticed a sign lying battered and burnt on the ground before them, the words 'Broadfell Prison' written across it.

"Well, he's back," she groaned tiredly, glancing grimly at the Doctor.

The Doctor looked back at her, trying to give her a comforting smile as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close, "Everything will be okay," he whispered in her ear, wishing with both his hearts that he believed that, "We've done this before, we can do it again".

"It's not so much the idea of fighting him that bothers me. Sadly, I've been used to doing that for centuries. No, what's worrying me is what his plan is".

"We'll work it out. We always do".

"Yes, but before or after he set's it in motion?" she raised her eyebrows, shaking her head as she pulled back from him, and grabbed his hand, pulling him back towards the TARDIS, "Come on, there's no point hanging around here. He's long gone".

…

The Doctor and the Hatter carefully climbed a pile of dirt and stone, looking out over a massive shipyard as they continued there search for the Master, the sound of seagulls squawking as they flew over their heads. They both paused, their eyes roaming around in an attempt to spot him, having spent two hours attempting to use the TARDIS scanner to track him down, managing to narrow his location down to the shipyard. They listened closely and inhaled deeply, trying to sense there fellow Time Lord among the piles of dirt, rubble, and dumped wood.

The Time Lady titled her head, her eyes closing, "I think…" she began slowly after a moment, opening her eyes, sniffing the air again, just to be certain. Her senses had always been sharper then the Doctor's, "I can pick up traces of him. Its feint, but he's here," she nodded, her eyes growing more intent as they flew around.

The Doctor glanced at her, frowning slightly, but before he could say anything four loud metal beats rang out from somewhere close by, echoing throughout the yard as he tensed, and the Hatter grabbed his hand, holding it tightly.

"He's playing with us," she told him calmly, giving him a reassuring look, "It doesn't mean that he's…" she trailed off, interrupted by another set of four beats.

They looked in the direction it had come from before running off towards the sound, their hands still clasped as the banging sounded again, this time faster, and another time, even faster than the last.

They run across an old, rusted steel girder towards the sound, jumping over bits of metal and wood lying around, past more girder's stacked together, before coming to a sudden stop as they looked up to see the Master standing on a large of pile of stone a short distance away from them, wearing what appeared to be an old black hoddie and trousers, a red shirt poking out from underneath, and his brown hair now blonde.

The Doctor and the Hatter, slightly breathless, stared across at him as he glared at them, and shouted almost animalistic at them, full of rage and hatred as they could only watched, slightly shocked. He stopped shouting, his face red, and gave them a mocking grin before turning and leaping into the air, higher than any human or even a Time Lord possible could, laughing as he disappeared out of sight on the other side of the pile of stone.

Not wanting to lose him, they bolted after him, running as fast as they could up the pile of stone he had stood on, being careful not to trip as they ran down it, the Time Lady cursing as she stumbled once they reached the bottom, but the Doctor's hold on her hand saved her from falling, and they were off running again past more girders, before coming to a stop, catching sight of the Master standing a short distance from them, grinning madly down as them from where he stood on a set of stacked struts.

He continued laughing, as if it was one big game, which it probably was to him, and his face flickered to a skeleton and back again. The Hatter gasped in horror, realising what he had done.

"Please, let us help!" the Doctor called to him, alarmed and deeply concerned.

"That's why it took us so long to find you!" the Hatter shook her head, still looking horrified, "You're burning up your own life force from the inside out! After all that effort to come back, you're still dying!"

The Master's face flickered again as he smirked mockingly, laughing as he turned and jumped off the struts on the other side from them, disappearing from sight.

The Doctor and the Hatter run after him, but before they could reach the beams, Wilf and a group of elderly men and women appeared almost out of nowhere, blocking there path.

"Oh, my gosh, Doctor and Hatter!" Wilf exclaimed, delighted to see them as he tried to pull them into a hug, "You're a sight for sore eyes…"

"Out of our way!" the Doctor pushed past him, running over to the pile of struts with the Hatter, trying to look over it to see where the Master had gone.

"Did we do it?" one of the elderly men asked from behind them as Wilf laughed, "Is that them?"

"Tall and thin, big brown coat," another man remarked, "And blonde and pale, wearing a green hat".

The Hatter paused, giving up on looking for the Master as she turned back around to face the group, raising an eyebrow at Wilf, "Blonde and pale?" she repeated, sounding slightly amused.

"The Silver Cloak," one of the women in the group smiled as the Doctor, also giving up on the Master, turned back around to face the group, "It worked! Because Wilf phoned Netty, who phoned June, and her sister lives opposite Broadfell, and she saw the police box, and her neighbour saw this man and woman heading east".

The Hatter titled her head curiously at the group as the Doctor frowned, "Wilfred?" he glanced at him, not seeming to notice one of the men in the group eyeing him.

"Yeah?" Wilf looked in-between him and the Time Lady, still smiling.

"Have you told them who we are? You promised us…"

"No, just said you were doctors, that's all," he replied, shaking his head, the blonde slightly surprised that Donna had told him that she was a trained doctor, "And might I say, sir, ma'am, it is an honour to see you again," he saluted them.

The Hatter smiled at him, giving him a little wave, casting the Doctor a pointed look, and he half-heartedly returned the salute.

"Oh, but you never said he was a looker," the same woman from before broke into a grin as she looked the Doctor up and down in admiration, "He's gorgeous!" the Time Lords eyes winded, the Time Lady struggling not to burst out laughing as the woman handed a camera to a man behind her, "Take a photo".

"Not bad, eh?" the man commented as he took the camera, eyeing the Doctor, too, "Me next".

The Doctor took a small step back, looking shocked and slightly fearful as the rest of the group nodded in agreement, and the Hatter couldn't help but laugh, very much enjoying herself.

"What about her?" an elderly man further to the back joined in, nodding to the Hatter, who blinked in surprise as they seemed to focus on her, "Look at that beautiful smile!"

The rest of the group nodded in agreement, talking about her as the Time Lady began regretting laughing at the Doctor for once in her life.

The Doctor shot her a cheeky grin as he leaned closer to her ear, "See? I'm not the only one who loves your smile".

"Don't start, sweetheart. This must be what it feels like to be paraded around to all your grandparents friends, I never realised how lucky I was to miss out on that experience…or though, somehow I doubt any of my grandparents friends would be looking quite as admiring as that woman's looking at you. That seems rather…creepy, to put it mildly".

The woman stepped towards the Doctor, smiling up at him, "I'm Minnie," she told him, latching onto him, slipping her arm around his waist as he looked startled, "Minnie the Menace. It's a long time since I had a photo with a handsome man".

He looked at the Hatter, only to see that a few of the men in the group gathering around her, two of them linking their arms through hers as she seemed to be rather shocked, a feint pink tinge spreading across her cheeks as he heard them complimenting her. If he wasn't feeling so startled himself, he probably would have teased her. It wasn't very often that he saw her look so shocked.

"Just get off them," Wilf sighed as the group swarmed around the Time Lords, moving close together so that they would all fit into the picture as the Time Lords could only look around at them all, "Leave them alone, will you?"

"Hush, you old misery," Minnie scoffed at him, looking up at the Doctor, "Come on, Doctor, give us a smile," she smiled at him, grabbing his cheeks, and pulling his face into a painful smile, "That's it!"

The Hatter grinned broadly, only just stopping herself from laughing again as the Doctor sent her a hopeless look, still looking as if he was in pain as they all turned to face the camera, Wilf standing next to the man, shaking his head.

"Hold on…" the man clicked the camera, "Did it flash?" he asked the group.

"No, there's a blue light," Minnie shook her head at him, the Doctor cast his eyes around wearily for the Master, "Try again".

He smiled slightly, shifting the camera in his hands, "I'm all fingers and thumbs…"

"We…we're really kind of busy, you know," the Doctor began, trying to be polite, knowing that he would end up hearing about it from the Hatter if he wasn't.

"Oh, it won't take a tick," Minnie assured him brightly, "Keep smiling".

He sighed and looked back to the front, when he suddenly exclaimed, "Is that your _hand_, Minnie?" and jolted away from her, his eyes wide.

The rest of the group exchanged looks, apparently not surprised as the Time Lady almost shook with laughter, feeling her eyes watering from the strain to not burst out as she looked across at the startled and alarmed look on the Doctor's face.

"Good boy," Minnie smirked, giving him pat on his behind, causing him to quickly untangle himself from her, taking a large step back.

"_Don't even start_," he said telepathically to the Time Lady, noticing her struggle.

"_Oh, sweetheart, you cradle robber_!" she laughed into his mind, breaking into a broad grin, unable to stop herself. Honestly, how could she resist?

….

The bus that Wilf and the rest of his group pulled up on the curb of a street, "Come on, then," Wilf called to the Time Lords as the buses door folded open, "Here we are, hurry up," he and the Time Lords stepped out onto the street, feeling slightly relieved to be off the bus and away from all the compliments and admiring looks that they had received, "Bye!" he waved through the window as the door closed, Minnie blew the Doctor a kiss, "You behave, bye!" he pointed to her.

The Hatter laughed and waved as the bus pulled away from the curb, driving away, while the Doctor hardly seemed to even notice Minnie's kiss, or perhaps he was just trying to pretend as if he didn't see it. He had been sticking to the Time Lady's side ever since the photo incident…

"Over here," Wilf caught their attention and began leading them across the street to a small café, "Come on".

The Doctor frowned slightly, glancing around as they followed him, "What's so special about this place?" he asked, "We passed fifteen cafes on the way".

Wilf tried to laugh him off as they approached the door, "Yeah…" he nodded to a man as they passed him in the doorway, "Afternoon".

He led them further into the café and over to a small table close to a window, taking a seat as the Time Lords, exchanging a look, pulled out two chairs across from him, and sat down. For a long moment, no one spoke, simply looking across at each other.

"Oh, we had some good times, didn't we though?" Wilf eventually remarked, smiling, "I mean, all those ATMOS things, and planets in the sky, and me with that paint gun," he laughed, gesturing with his hands to shooting something, making a popping sound, but turned serious when the Time Lords simply looked worried, thinking about the Master. He sighed, hesitating, "I keep seeing things. I…this face at night…"

"Who are you?" the Doctor frowned at him.

He blinked, looking taken aback, "I'm Wilfred Mott".

"No," he shook his head, eyeing him, "People have waited hundreds of years to find me…us and then you manage it in a few hours," he smiled slightly as he glanced at the blonde beside him, "Only the Hatter's managed to find me throughout time and space".

The Hatter gave him a look, smiling, "Well, it does help when I'm a Time Lady and have my own TARDIS…" she trailed off, frowning slightly, "_Had_ my own TARDIS, I should say".

Wilf shrugged, "Well, I'm just lucky, I suppose".

They looked back to him, "No, we keep on meeting, Wilf," they commented thoughtfully, "Over and over again like something's still connecting us".

"What's so important about me?"

"_Everything_," the Time Lady told him firmly, reaching across the table and taking his hand, giving it a squeeze, "And don't you ever forget that".

They lapsed into silence again as the Doctor glanced over towards the window, swallowing before looking back to Wilf, "I'm going to die," he informed him. He wasn't sure why he had said it, just that it felt as if he needed to tell Wilf.

The Hatter closed her eyes briefly before opening them again, letting go of Wilf's hand, and grasping the Doctor's, holding it tightly. She hated the thought of having to say goodbye to this him, just as she hated having to say goodbye to all his previous selves, but there was no point in pretending that it wasn't going to happen, nor that the possibility that she would regenerate also wasn't there. She just hoped that when it did happen, however that might be, that it would be doing something worth wild, not hitting their heads. That would just be embarrassing.

Wilf smiled, chuckling slightly, not understanding, "Well, so am I, one day".

"Don't you dare," the Hatter gave him a stern look as she glanced at the Doctor, sighing sadly as she noticed his eyes filling with tears, and wrapping her arm around him.

"All right, I'll try not to".

"But I was told," the Doctor took a deep breath, his voice shaking slightly, "'He will knock four times,'" he explained miserably, "That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then…" he trailed off, unable to say it.

Wilf frowned and leaned closer to them, "Yeah…but I thought…" he hesitated, "When I saw you before…you said…your people could…change, like your whole body".

The Hatter gave Wilf a sad smile, "Yes, and it's called regeneration," she nodded, glancing at the Doctor, "But…we're not immortal, we can still die," she sighed, shaking her head, "You see, if a Time Lords killed before regeneration has time to kick in, then that's it. They're dead".

"Even then," the Doctor began, looking at the wall behind Wilf, his eyes still full of tears, "Even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies," he meet his eyes finally, "Some new man goes sauntering away…and I'm dead," he breathed, his lower lip trembling.

"Oh, my sweetheart," the Time Lady murmured to him, her own eyes filling with tears as she kissed his forehead, holding him even tighter as she leant her head on his, not caring that it caused her hat to almost topple off, "You are always, no matter what face you might wear, or what you might say otherwise, you are always the Doctor to me," she tried smiling, lowering her voice to a whisper, so that only he could hear her, "You are still little Theta Sigma, the boy I dropped a book on, to me, no matter what".

And it was true, because no matter how many regenerations they might have gone through, he had always been her best friend. It didn't matter to her in the slightest if he had a different face, or if he acted differently, that was simply a part of regeneration, and yes, it might take a few hours or even a day to get used to the personality changes, but that made it all the more exciting, it was like getting to know the Doctor all over again, seeing new sides to him. Regeneration wasn't something that she was frightened of, her last self-had been afraid when the moment had come, but she hadn't experienced it so long. No, to her it was like entering a new chapter in one's life. The thing that worried her most was that the Doctor, or even herself, would be alone in the end, she hated the thought of dying alone. Thank goodness they had each other.

The Time Lords looked up at Wilf, realising he hadn't said a word, to see him staring at something out the window.

"What?" the Doctor asked him, turning in his chair to look, only to see Donna getting her car key's out of her bag, just across the street.

"Donna," the Hatter gasped, a painful lump forming in her throat as she watched her. Oh, how she and the Doctor had missed her so much, and to see her looking so well…it was wonderful.

"I'm sorry," Wilf told them gently, watching their reaction, their eyes fixed outside the window, "But I had to. Look, can't you make her better?"

"Stop it," the Doctor shot him a look.

"No, but you're both so clever. Can't you bring her memories back? Look, just go to her. Go on, just run across the street. Go up and say 'hello'".

The Time Lady swallowed, forcing her voice to sound strong, "We can't, Wilfred," she looked back to him, meeting his eyes sternly, "She can never ever remember us, otherwise her mind with burn, and she will die," she shook her head, closing her eyes painfully before opening them again, "And no amount of our cleverness will be able to stop that".

They watched as a female traffic warden approached Donna as she unlocked her car, opening the door, and put her shopping bags away. She slammed the door and turned around, pointing at the traffic warden, "Don't you touch my car!" she fixed her with a warning look.

They laughed, the Time Lords exchanging fond smiles, "She's not changed," the Doctor grinned.

"Nah," Wilf agreed, chuckling, "Oh, there he is," they watched as a man joined Donna, carrying more shopping bags, "Shaun Temple. They're engaged…"

"What?" the Hatter's eyes widened in delight as she snapped her head around to Wilf so fast it cracked. Ignoring the pain, she broke into a broad smile as she looked back out the window, "Oh, that's brilliant," she laughed, overjoyed as the Doctor blinked in mild surprise at the news, smiling softly.

"Yeah," Wilf nodded, smiling warmly at the Time Lady's reaction, "Getting married in the spring".

"Another wedding," the Doctor remarked, glancing at him as Wilf nodded, before pausing, "Hold on, she's not gonna be called Noble-Temple?" he frowned slightly as the Hatter looked amused, feeling grateful that they didn't have that issue when they got married, "Sounds like a tourist spot".

"No, it's Temple-Noble".

"Right," he looked back outside, watching as Donna and Shaun put their shopping away in the boot of the car.

The Hatter smiled softly as she watched them, "Is she happy?" she titled her head, watching there interaction, "What about Shaun, what's he like?"

"Yeah, he's sweet enough," Wilf nodded, smiling, too, as he looked outside, "He's a bit of a dreamer…"

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with that," she laughed, thinking about how many times she or the Doctor were called the same thing in school.

"Mind you, he's on minimum wage," he continued, "She's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny flat," he paused, glancing at the Time Lords sadly, "And then sometimes I see this look on her face, like she's so sad, but she can't remember why".

"She's got him," the Doctor replied.

"She's making do".

The Hatter sighed, losing her smile as she glanced back at Wilf, "Aren't most people?"

Wilf looked at them closely, "Yeah, how about you?" he asked quietly, "Who have you got now?'

"Each other," the Doctor turned back to him, looking at the Hatter, "But we're travelling alone," he looked down at the table, his voice chocking up, "I thought it was better…" the Hatter grabbed his hand again, holding it tightly as her eyes filled with tears again to see him in so much pain, "But I did somethings…it went wrong…"

He gasped and covered his face with one hand, the other entwined with the Hatter's as he broke down.

"Shh, it's okay, my sweetheart," the Hatter tried to comfort him, blinking back tears of her own witnessing him in so much distress.

"Oh, my word," Wilf breathed, staring at the Doctor, holding back tears.

The Doctor rubbed his eyes with one hand, taking a deep breath as he looked across to the other man, "Merry Christmas," he scoffed at himself slightly, his face and eyes red.

"Yeah, and you two!"

The Hatter shook her head as they chuckled, glancing around the café, "Oh, would you look at us three," she commented, leaning her head on the Doctor's shoulder, and he placed a kiss onto her head.

Wilf watched them curiously, trying to think of a happier topic, "Donna told me that you two were engaged".

"We got married," the Doctor informed him, brightening as the Hatter, grinning, wiggled her hand at Wilf, showing off her rings, "Among one of the best day of my life".

"Congratulations," he smiled widely at them, grasping the Doctor's hand and shaking it, followed by the Time Lady's, "Oh, Donna would have been so happy," his eyes watered as they glanced back over to the window, watching as Donna and Shaun climbed into the front of the car, starting it up, "Are you sure you couldn't…"

"We're so, so sorry," the Hatter cut him off, giving the man an understanding look. If it had been the other way around and it was her granddaughter, she would have done everything she could to try helping her, "But there's nothing we can," she shrugged heavily, "Things have a way of working themselves out in the end, just be patient. Who knows what wonderful things will come to Donna living an ordinary human life? I mean, she's already getting married, anything could happen".

_**And it begins. Well, at least they got married, but in a typical Master fashion, he just had to have a hand in Ten's death. Next chapter, jelly babies, a furious Time Lady, and what is the Doctor so worried about concerning the Hatter? Tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest reviews: **_

_**Guest: **__**Yep, originally it was going to be the Three Doctor's, but I can always change that plan since I haven't even started writing it yet. Hopefully, once this story is finished, since I really want to finish this story before working on anything else, I'll find some time to start it. I think I feel sorry for really any Hatter who has to come into contact with her Second self, she really was like a six year on a coffee high. Thanks for the review :)**_


	11. Chapter 11The End of Time (1), part 2

_**The End of Time (1), part 2**_

After their unexpected meeting with Wilf, the Time Lords said there goodbye's and left to continue their search for the Master, returning back to the docklands where they sensed him the most clearly still. Night had fallen as they walked through the more abounded area of the docklands, where there was plenty of places for the Master to hide in old, practically derelict buildings and warehouses.

The Doctor climbed a pile of stone, looking around the area from the advantage point as the Hatter closed her eyes, focusing hard, and inhaling the cool air. It was getting harder and harder to pick up the Master's scent, the more time he spent wondering around, burning up his own life force, the weaker his scent became, which was proving to work in his favour. Well, not so much the part where he was slowly dying, but the Time Lady suspected that he was already making plans to fix that little issue.

"Anything?" the Doctor called down to her, frowning in concentration as his eyes continued to roam around the area.

She sighed and opened her eyes, "It's getting harder to tell," she replied grimly, shaking her head, "I thought I sensed something, just for a second, and then it faded".

He cast one last look around before making his way back down the pile of stone, sending little pebbles and dirt scattering as he joined her, "It's something, at least," he remarked, glancing at her, "Could you sense where it came from?"

The Time Lady titled her head, scrunching up her face in concentration, trying to recall what direction the pull on her senses had been strongest, "I think…" she began slowly, "It came from over there," her face relaxed and she pointed over in the general direction of an abounded warehouse, only a short distance away from them, "But it was very weak," she reminded him, not wanting him to get his hope's up in case she was wrong, "Hardly noticeable, really".

He took her hand, giving her slightly worried look, "If he is in there, are you going to be okay?"

"Don't worry about me, sweetheart," she smiled reassuringly at him, giving his hand a squeeze, "The main focusing is dealing with the Master, my own discomfort or feelings can come later".

"You do realise that's he's going to be able to sense the shift in our relationship".

"Yes, but I hardly expect that he will be displeased that we didn't invite him to our wedding. I mean, can you imagine what that would have been like? He probably would have killed half our guests, tried to steal the TARDIS, and either kidnapped me or tried to kill us both".

The Doctor gave her a look, "You know what I mean, Hatter," he said sternly, taking a deep breath, "He'll go out of his way to hurt you just to get to me, or vice versa".

The Hatter shrugged, "It's hardly any different from before," she reasoned, giving him a small, comforting smile when he opened his mouth to argue, "Sweetheart, the Master doesn't scare me, he never has," she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, her thumb rubbing gently across his cheek bone, "It's his action that cause me the most concern, and if he wants to try using either one of us to get to the other, then he'll be in for a fight".

That didn't seem to convince the Doctor to much, but he did give her a very small smile, knowing that she was just trying to comfort him, and turned his head to kiss the palm her hand, making her laugh.

"I almost feel sorry for him if he try's anything," he commented lightly as she removed her hand from his cheek, but the lightness in his tone quickly vanished, "Ready?" he asked, turning serious.

She meet his eyes, also turning serious, "Of course, sweetheart," she nodded, her voice strong, but she couldn't help clutching his hand a little tighter.

They began to make their way over towards the warehouse, forcing themselves to remain emotionless as they stepped inside, doing their best to avoid tripping over anything as they made their way through the darkened space, until they found him, the Master.

He had his back to them as he crouched, holding something in his hands to his face as they watched him, but within moments his head snapped up, apparently realising their presences. He dropped whatever it was and stood calmly, before turning to look at them, his face almost as blank of emotions as theirs. The Doctor and the Hatter eyed him carefully as they began to slowly walk towards him.

The Master looked down at his left hand, energy crackled around it before glancing to his right hand, more energy crackled, and he clutched them into fists. He shot a beam of energy at the Hatter, who forced herself not to flinch is it shot past her, hitting the ground and flames erupted, just as he sent another beam towards the Doctor, narrowly missing him, too. He rubbed his hands together, trying to generate even more energy as they continued walking towards him, smirking at them as he threw out his hands, and hit the Doctor right in the middle of his chest.

"No!" the Hatter shouted, and shoved the Doctor out of the way, sending him to the dusty ground, panting for breath as he looked up at her, anguished as she cried out in pain, taking the full force of the energy, her hat toppling off. She tried to fight against it, but the pain and force was too much, and she collapsed to her knees as the Master, seeming surprised, dropped his arms, cutting the beam off.

"Hatter!" the Doctor called frantically, ignoring the burning pain that was still in his chest as he threw himself forwards, and grabbed her before she could fully fall as she panted, her eyes watering from the pain. He held her close to his chest, muttering soothing words in her ear as he kissed her hair, "Shh, its okay…"

The Master stepped over to them, eyeing them both with disgust as he crouched in front of them, "You two have been busy, haven't you?" he remarked after a moment, the Doctor threw him a furious glare, "What's wrong, did you think she wouldn't be so keen on marrying you again if either of you regenerated, so you decided to make sure that wouldn't be an issue?" he scoffed, shaking his head.

"Oh, shut up," the Hatter groaned heavily, struggling to pull herself up right, even with the Doctor's help she was still forced to lean against his shoulder, "You have hardly any right to talk about marriage when you failed so miserably with your own".

He cast her a dark look, "You would have run away, too, if you had to be married to that woman".

Anger flared in the Time Lady's eyes as she glared coldly back at him, "_That woman_ was my sister," she reminded him angrily, "And I won't have you talking about her like that".

"That's rich coming from the woman she hated".

"Regardless, she was _my_ sister, and I will not listen to you disrespect her memory. You did that more than enough during your marriage".

The Master simply laughed at her, as if what she had said was one big joke, casting his eyes around them, "I had estates," he began suddenly, looking back to them, "Do you remember my Father's land back home?" he raised his eyebrows at the Doctor, "Pastures of red grass, stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition…" he smiled almost fondly at the memory, his eyes still on the Doctor, "We used to run across those fields all day, calling up at the sky…" he sighed, remembering all the times before they entered the Academy, even before the Hatter came along, before turning dark again as his eyes roamed around the warehouse, "Look at us now".

"All that eloquence," the Doctor shook his head, looking at him sadly, "But how many people have you killed?"

He frowned at him, almost as if he was offended, "I am so hungry".

The Hatter took a deep breath, "That's because your resurrection went wrong," she told him, already having put the pieces together, the state the prison had been left in, his life force slowly draining, and it all added up to one thing, "That energy, that hunger you feel…your body's been ripped apart," she shook her head, looking at him almost sympathetically, "And now you're slowly killing yourself".

"That's human Christmas out there," he exclaimed, gesturing outside, ignoring her, "They eat so much! All that roasted meat, cakes, and red wine. Hot, fat, blood, food! Pots, plates of meat, and flesh, and grease, and juice, and baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot! It's so hot…"

"Stop it," the Doctor tried as the Hatter grimaced.

"Sliced…sliced…sliced…!"

"Stop it!"

"It's mine!" his fits clenched together, "It's mine! It's mine to eat and eat and eat…!"

"Enough, please!" the Hatter said loudly over the shouts, feeling slightly ill. They watched as the Master stopped and brought his fists to his head, clutching at it painfully, and the Time Lady took a deep breath, glancing at the Doctor, "We need your help," she began carefully, his head snapped up to look at them, scoffing.

The Doctor nodded, "There's more at work tonight then you and us," he added.

The Master rolled his eyes, giving them a sarcastic look, "Oh, yeah?"

"We've been told something is returning".

"And here I am".

The Hatter shook her head, watching him closely, "No, it's something else, something far bigger than any of us put together".

The Master ignored them, grimacing in pain as he clutched at his head again, "But it hurts," he groaned.

"We were told the end of time…" the Doctor continued.

"It hurts!" he cut across them, looking back at them, "Doctor, Hatter, the noise…" he moved closer to them, pointing to his head, "The noise in my head! One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four!" he hit his knuckles on the side of his head, staring at them, "Stronger than ever before. Can't you hear it?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," they could only shake their heads, apologetically.

"Listen, listen, listen, listen! Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts…there it is…calling to me. Please, listen!" he crawled closer to them, looking at them desperately.

The Doctor and the Hatter shook their heads, hearing nothing, "We can't hear it".

The Time Lady recalled the first and last time she had heard that terrible sound in her head, when she had been a child, and she had tried to help him, but it had been too much. It hurt and frightened her so much that she had practically ran away and hid in her room. Of course, she regretted that to this day, that she hadn't been brave or strong enough to try helping him like she had wanted to. Perhaps that was were so much of the anger he felt towards had first come from, she wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, because she certainly felt like she deserved it.

"Listen!" the Master grabbed the Doctor's head, pressing his forehead to his, forcing him to hear it as the Hatter grasped the Doctor's hand, knowing what he was about to experience.

The Doctor gasped and jolted back from him, staring at the other man in horror, smudges of dust coating the side of his face from the other man's finger tips.

"What?" the Master questioned.

"But…" he opened and closed his mouth, his eyes flying the Time Lady, who nodded grimly.

He looked back and forth between the two, growing angry, "What?" he demanded again.

"I heard it," the Doctor breathed, looking back at him, wide eyed as the Master's demeanour changed completely and he stood slowly, "But there's no noise," he shook his head, always having thought that the Hatter had simply misheard, after all, she had only been a child, "There never has been. It's just your insanity," the Master brought his hands to the side of his head, looking overjoyed, "It's…what is it?" he asked, breathing hard, "What's inside your head?"

The Master began laughing, turning almost hysterical, "It's real!" he giggled, clutching his head, "It's real," he looked up and shouted, "It's real!"

Bolts of energy fired from his hands into the ground before him, lifting him up into the sky as the Doctor grabbed the Hatter, trying to gently pull her on to her feet as she winced, the pain in her chest that had faded to a dull ach flaring once more, but she refused to let it hold them back.

Once she was back on her feet, the Doctor wrapped his arm around her as he helped her to half stagger along, looking up at the sky, trying to find the Master. They made it outside, following the sound of his mad laughter when they came to a skidding halt, catching sight of him standing on a pile of stone.

"All these years, you thought I was mad!" he laughed, pointing at the Doctor, before pointing up towards the sky, "King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor, Hatter!" his tone turned demanding, "What is it? What is it? What is it?"

Before either the Doctor or the Hatter could answer, a beam of light fell over the Master from above, and they all looked up to see a spotlight on a helicopter, almost blinding them as the sound of the blades sounded through the air and a wind blew around them. Another beam shot down, this time illumination the Doctor and the Hatter, causing them to stumble back as they tried to look up to see a second helicopter hovering above them. Ropes fell down on either side of the Master as they looked back, just as three men in black slid down them, forcibly grabbing him, and injecting him with something, and he went limp.

"Don't!" the Doctor cried as he and the Hatter ran forwards, but before they could get far, two other people dressed in black began firing at them, purposely hitting the ground at their feet as they were forced to dance backwards out of the line of fire.

They could only watch hopelessly as the Master was hoisted up by the first two men into the helicopter, and out of sight as they ran up a small pile of stone.

"Let him go!" they shouted, when the Doctor was suddenly hit of the back of his head, sending him crashing fast first onto the ground.

The Hatter stumbled, still unsteady on her own feet, and tried to whirl around, when something very hard smacked into the back of her head, and everything faded into darkness…

…

Once the Time Lords had regained consciousness the next morning, they hurried back to the TARDIS, both coughing and spluttering slightly from a night spent with their faces pressed into the dust and dirt of the mound, breathing it in. They materialised outside the Noble's house and quickly stepped out, running over to the driveway, picking up a few of the small stones that covered it, and threw them up at one of the window's upstairs were a lit was on. They had already checked to make sure that Sylvia and Donna were downstairs, meaning that it could only be Wilf.

They watched for a moment until the curtain was pulled back and Wilf peeked out, the Time Lady gesturing for him to come down. He nodded and disappeared out of sight.

"You know, I can still taste that dust in my mouth," the Hatter remarked, sighing as she reached inside her pocket, pulling out her bag of jelly babies, and held it out to the Doctor, "Want one, sweetheart?"

The Doctor glanced down at the bag, the corner of his mouth twitching despite how serious the situation actually was, "You and your sweets," he shook his head fondly and reached inside the bag, grabbing a couple.

She grinned at him, winking as she popped a lolly into her mouth, "Of course".

The front door of the Noble's house opened and Wilf stepped out, wearing a coat, and hurried to meet them, looking worried.

"We lost him," the Doctor quickly turned serious, "We were unconscious".

"He's still on Earth, though," the Hatter added, trying to be a little bit more cheerful, "So that's one good thing, and we can still smell him, but he's too far away".

"Listen, you can't park there!" Wilf exclaimed, pointing at the TARDIS, glancing worriedly back towards his house, "What if Donna sees it?"

The Doctor shook his head, "You're the only one, Wilf," he cut him off, eyeing him carefully, "The only connection I can think of. You're involved, if we could work out how," he took a step closer to him, "Tell us, have you seen anything? I don't know…anything strange, anything odd?"

He hesitated, seeming unsure, "Well, there was a…"

"Anything might help, Wilf," the Time Lady told him gently.

"Well, it was…" he paused again, shaking his head, "No, it's nothing".

"Think, think, think!" the Doctor tried desperately, "Maybe something out of the blue. Something connected to your life._ Something_…"

"Well, Donna was a bit strange. She had a funny little moment, this morning, all because of that book…"

"What book?" the Time Lords asked at once.

Wilf led them around the side of the house, the Time Lords being careful to keep a couple of steps back from the open kitchen doors as the man disappeared inside, returning quickly with a book in his hands, and handed it to them. They looked down at the front cover and found themselves looking at the man from the Ood's prophecy, the one they hadn't recognised, along with the words 'Fighting the Future'.

"His name's Joshua Naismith," Wilf informed them.

The Time Lords exchanged a look, "That's the man," they nodded down at the book, "We were shown him by the Ood".

"By the what?"

"By the Ood," the Doctor repeated.

"What's the Ood?"

"They're just the Ood," he replied, smiling slightly as the Hatter laughed quietly, amused by his answer, "But it's all part of the convergence," he turned serious again, looking up, "Maybe…it may be touching Donna's subconscious," he broke into a wide grin as the Hatter smiled slowly, "Oh, she's still fighting for us, even now," he glanced at Wilf, "The Doctor-Donna".

"Dad, what are you up to?" Sylvia called, stepping outside, and stopping short when she caught sight of the Time Lords, her eyes narrowing, "You!" Wilf avoided her eyes guilty as the Time Lords exchanged looks, "But…get out of here!"

"Ah…Merry Christmas," the Hatter offered with a smile, recalling that the last time they had spoken, a few things were said in anger. She didn't regret saying them, but she didn't exactly want to get into another argument, either.

"Merry Christmas," she nodded to them but she wasn't to be deterred, "But she can't see you!" she exclaimed, gesturing back inside the house, "What if she remembers?"

"Mum, where are those tweezers?" Donna's voice came from inside the house.

"Go!" she hissed, trying to usher them away.

"We're going," the Doctor grabbed the Hatter's hand, both turning.

"Yeah, me too," Wilf added, following after them.

"Oh no, you don't!" Sylvia hurried after them as they walked back around the side of the house, heading back towards the TARDIS, "Dad, I'm warning you…" she tried.

"Bye, see you later!" Wilf called over his shoulder, waving his hand back towards her as they crossed the road.

"Stay right where you are!"

The Doctor pulled out his key and slipped it into the time machine's lock, glancing back at him, "You can't come with us," he told him with a small frown.

Wilf pointed back over to his daughter, "You're not leaving me with her," he argued.

"Dad!"

The Hatter winced, patting him on the shoulder, "Let it never be said that we wouldn't come to a person's cry for help," the Doctor opened the doors and stepped inside, but she paused before entering, glancing wearily back at Wilf, "Ah…but please don't tell her I said that, I've grown fond of this body".

"I wouldn't dare," he assured her, making her smile.

They stepped through into the TARDIS, the Time Lady closing the door behind them before skipping up to the controls to join the Doctor, and helping him to send the TARDIS off into the Time Vortex.

"Naismith," the Doctor remarked, running around the console, and pushing the book into Wilf's hands, "We can track him down…"

The Hatter coughed pointedly, "Sweetheart," she cut across him, stepping over to Wilf, who was looking around the console, stunned, "Are you okay?" she asked him gently, but there was a hint of amusement in her tone, "Don't worry, a lot…actually, pretty much_ everyone_ gets thrown by it being bigger on the inside".

The Doctor looked up from the controls, "Do you like it?" he asked him.

Wilf, still staring around, blinked, "I thought it'd be cleaner," he commented.

"Cleaner?" the Doctor repeated, pointing a finger across at him, sounding offended, "I could take you home right now!"

The Time Lady shook her head, "Oh, don't start," she rolled her eyes slightly, casting a look around the console, "I have to admit, it's not exactly my taste, either. It's a bit dark for me, I like warm lighting, and space, too".

"Oi!" he turned in her direction, looking even more upset, "You never said before!"

"Well, you never asked," she replied, shrugging as she focused back on the controls.

Wilf frowned slightly, "Listen, Doctor, Hatter, if this is a time machine," he began, gesturing around the room, "That man you're chasing, why can't you just pop back to yesterday and catch him?"

"Doesn't work that way," the blonde shook her head, "There's very important rules about time you must follow, and one of the very basic ones is that we can't go back inside your own time line".

The Doctor nodded, "We have to stay relative to the Master within the causal nexus," he added, glancing at him, "Understand?"

"Not a word".

The Hatter laughed as the Doctor smiled, holding out his hand for him to shake, "Welcome aboard".

"Thank you," he took the offered hand, shaking it.

The Time Lords returned to piloting the TARDIS, materialising in a stables on the Naismith property, opening the doors, and stepped out.

Wilf gasped, looking around in amazement, "We've moved!" he exclaimed, "We've really moved!"

The Hatter cast him a concerned look, "I know you won't agree, but you really ought to stay in the TARDIS," she told him, "I would hate for the Master to try using you…"

"Not bloody luckily!" he gave her a look as if she was insane, and she smiled slightly. Ah, that's were Donna got it.

"And don't swear," the Doctor scolded lightly before pausing, "Hold on," he turned back to the TARDIS, grabbing his key, and pointed it at the time machine, making it vanish.

"Ooh, good idea," the Time Lady nodded, smiling brightly at him as he looked slightly smug, slipping the key back inside his pocket, "We wouldn't want the Master to get his hands on it again," she glanced at Wilf, noticing the confused look, "It's just hidden a second out of sync".

They moved outside the stables and into a yard, running along the side of a brick building, ducking out of sight of windows as they did so, the Time Lords keeping a sharp eye out for anyone. They stepped through an archway before quickly hurrying back around the corner of the building, just as two armed guards marched past.

"That book said he's a billionaire," Wilf informed them as the Doctor reached inside his pocket, "He's got his own private army".

"Typical," the Hatter remarked, shaking her head, "Why is it that human's always feel the need to get their own army's, anyway? Still…I can hardly talk when you consider my family had their own guards. Talk about paranoid".

"I remember one of the guards always tried to search me whenever I came to visit you," the Doctor recalled, frowning as he glanced at her, "He acted as if I was a possible threat to you".

She smiled cheekily at him, titling her head, "Well, you kind of did influence me to break free of my parent's grasp, so I think that would be classed as being a possible threat".

"Yes…but did he really need to try searching me every time he was on guard?"

"Maybe he fancied you," she suggested, laughing at the startled look he sent her, "Oh, come now, even Time Lords could lean the other way," she shrugged, still smiling, "It's just that it was a general thing that physical contact, without good reason, was thought to be a waste of time and improper".

He sniffed, almost smugly as he ran a hand through his hair, "It wouldn't surprise me," he commented, obviously feeling quite pleased with himself once he was over the surprise.

She rolled her eyes, lightly smacking his arm, "Get over yourself and focus, sweetheart," she scolded sternly, "We're here for the Master, remember? You can act smug about someone _possibly_ finding you attractive centuries ago later…preferably when I don't have to listen to your egotistical ramblings".

The Doctor stared at her, looking slightly offended as he mouthed the words 'egotistical ramblings' at Wilf, who simply shrugged back, caught between amusement and confusion. He shook his head and glanced back around the corner to check it was clear.

"Down here," he nodded to Wilf and the Time Lady.

They ran into the archway and over to a small side doorway in the arch, the Doctor flashing his sonic at the lock, and they ducked inside, bending low as Wilf closed the door behind them. They carefully made their way down a darkened tunnel, keeping low to avoid hitting the ceiling as the Hatter was forced to slip her hat off, when they came to a small door, the Doctor using his sonic again to open it. They climbed out carefully to find themselves in what appeared to be a basement, just as they heard something just ahead of them.

"…the man's a miracle," a woman's voice sounded, making them exchange looks, the Time Lords guessing that she could only be referring to the Master, "All the systems are slotting back into place…"

They moved slowly forwards, peeking around the side of another archway, the Time Lords casting looks at a large piece of panelled machine, before refocusing their eyes on where a blonde woman in a lab coat was busy looking at a computer screen, apparently reading the results out to someone over a comm. link

The Hatter smiled as she eyed her carefully, "Shimmer," she whispered in the Doctor's ear, looking slightly amused. They were taught to see through them, or at the very least, depending on how good they were, to be able to detect them as only kids.

"…the shatterthreads have harmonised," the woman continued, sounding almost excited, "The fibre links intensified, and the multiple overshots have triplicated".

"Nice Gate!" the Doctor called, poking his head around the side of the arch as the woman paused, staring at them in surprise.

"Hello," Wilf greeted, sticking his head around the other side of the arch, "Look, sorry…" he added as he noticed the woman's startled look.

"Now, don't get any ideas about calling security," the Hatter waggled a finger at the woman, still smiling as they moved further into the room, "Well…not unless you wish for us to tell them about the Shimmer you're wearing," she added, her tone light and almost playful as she titled her head at her.

The Doctor nodded, "Because I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed," he added, "Or they wouldn't need the Shimmer in the first place".

The woman tried to look confused, "I'm sorry, what's a…Shimmer?" she asked.

He pointed the sonic at the woman, "Shimmer!"

Her appearance flickered before disappearing completely to reveal an alien with green skin and spikes protruding from where her hair should be, and running just along her cheekbones. She sighed heavily and her shoulder's sagged, completely dropping the act.

"Oh, my Lord!" Wilf gasped, pointing at her in amazement and shock, "She's a cactus!"

The Hatter gently lowered his arm as the woman shot him a glare, "Now, now," she said calmly to him, giving his arm a pat, casting the woman a weary look, "There's no need to start fighting…"

"Miss Addams?" a man's voice came over the comm. link, calling a bit more urgently, "Miss Addams?"

The Time Lords stepped closer to the computer screens, the Doctor slipping his glasses on as they examined the readings on the screen.

"He's got it working, but what is it?" the Doctor frowned at the results, glancing at the Hatter, who was busy trying to type, "What's he working on?"

"Give me a moment…" she muttered, her eyes fixed on the screen.

A tall, dark haired man entered, wearing a lab coat, and stared at them, "What are you doing here?" he demanded, alarmed.

Without even looking, the Time Lords called in unison, the Doctor pointing the sonic at him, "Shimmer!"

The Shimmer, just like on Addams, disappeared, revealing the man to be yet another cactus-like green alien, only his spikes seemed to be slightly longer. Addams peered around Wilf, giving the man a look.

"Never mind that," the Hatter shook her head at the man, who looked very alarmed that his disguise had been removed, all the while still typing, "We need to information, and quickly. Exactly what's going on?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"The Master," the Doctor turned to him, growing slightly annoyed when he simply shook his head, "Harold Saxon, Skeletor! Whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?" he pointed up at the ceiling.

The man shrugged, "He's repairing the Gate," he told them, glancing at the Time Lady as the Doctor moved around the room, "But I checked the readings," he continued, seeming confused, "He's done good work. It's operational".

"Yes, but for what, exactly?" the Time Lady sighed, resisting the urge to growl in frustration when she hit a firewall trying to access the Gate's mainframe. The Master had certainly made sure that it wouldn't be easy for them.

"Who are you, though?" the Doctor frowned at them, eyeing them, "We met someone like you. He was brilliant, but he was little and red".

Addams rolled her eyes, looking exasperated, "No, that's a Zocci," she replied.

"We're not Zoccie, we're Vinvocci," the man agreed, seeming just as annoyed, "Completely different".

The Doctor shrugged as the Hatter cast them slightly apologetic looks.

"And the Gate is Vinvocci," Addams went on as the Time Lady cast the computer screen a thoughtful look, thinking quickly, "We're a salvage team," she explained, "We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it. And as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the ship".

"But what does it _do_?" the Doctor questioned.

"Well, it mends," the man answered with a shrug as the Time Lady gasped in realisation, "It's as simple as that. It's a medical device to repair the body. It makes people better".

"No, there's got to be more," he shook his head, glancing at the Hatter, who was looking even more thoughtful then before as she eyed the equipment around them, "Every single warning says the Master's going to do something colossal".

Wilf pointed over to the Gate's panels, "So that thing's like a sickbed, yeah?"

"More or less," Addams nodded.

"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"

"Oh, good question," the Doctor's head snapped up, casting him a slightly impressed look, before refocusing on the other two aliens, "Why's is so big?"

The Hatter smiled fondly at him as she cast him a look, "You really didn't pay any attention to our medical technology class in school, did you?" she remarked, rolling her eyes towards the end.

He sent her a cheeky grin, "How could I pay attention in class with you sitting beside me?"

"Ah, of course," she laughed slightly, "I sometimes forget just what effect adolescent hormones had, despite raising four of them. Anyway, as for your question," she cleared her throat, getting back onto topic, "If I recall correctly, and mind you I could be mistaken, it has been centuries, but this medical unit doesn't just heal one person at a time, it…" she suddenly trailed off, her eyes widening in horror.

"What?" he asked, growing very alarmed as he hurried to her side, grabbing her hand.

"Oh, we've been so blind," she breathed, meeting his eyes, "It mends _entire_ planets, Doctor!"

"It does what?" he gaped at her.

Addams frowned at them, "It transmits the medical template across the entire population," she told them.

The Time Lords exchanged a quick look and raced out of the room, across the basement, and up to the ground floor, following the sense of the Master as they burst through a door, and into a large control room where the Gate was set up at the back of the room, a large glass dome on the ceiling above the very middle of the room.

"Turn the Gate off right now!" the Time Lords shouted as they ran inside, spotting the Master strapped into a straightjacket.

"At arms!" a man in a black suit ordered, and armed guards all around the room aimed at them.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" they came to a stop, holding their arms out towards the guards, the Doctor attempted to move himself in front of the Time Lady, but regardless, they were covered from all sides, "Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device!" they pointed at the Master.

The Master laughed, "Oh, like that was ever going to happen," he mocked, using the energy to throw the straightjacket off him, releasing himself as he used to the same energy to leap into the air with a roar, coming to land inside the Gate. The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged horrified looks, "Homeless, was I?" he mocked again as he smirked at them, "Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now!" he threw out his arms.

"Don't just stand there, deactivate it!" the Hatter shouted, running over to the Naismith's, "You've got to turn it all off, right now!"

No one moved, not even the guards as the Naismith's began shaking their heads, the young woman raising her hand to her forehead, looking pained as the Master laughed. The Hatter's eye flew around the rest of the room, seeing that everyone else, save for herself and the Doctor, were all doing the same thing.

"He's…inside my head…" Mr Naismith breathed, blinking, seeming to be struggling to actually speak.

The Doctor and the Hatter ran closer to the Gate, shouting, "Get out of there!"

The Master glared at them and shot a bolt of energy towards them, causing them to fall backwards onto the floor, flames erupting right where they had stood.

"Doctor, Hatter!" Wilf called, almost fearfully as he stumbled into the room, "There's…there's this face…"

They pulled themselves back up and ran over to him, the Hatter wrapping an arm around him worriedly.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked him quickly, "What can you see?"

"Well, it's him," he replied, blinking as he pointed over to the Master, "I can see…him. I keep seeing his face!"

"There's something wrong," a female news reporter announced over the live TV feed, blinking in the same way that the other's all were, "…it seems to be affecting the President".

The image changed to show the President with his hands covering his face, shaking his head, all the while the Master continued laughing.

The Hatter ran over to one of the computers, trying to shut the Gate down, "Damn!" she cried in frustration, "I can't turn it off!"

"That's because I've locked it," the Master scoffed at her, rolling his eyes, "Idiot".

"Oi! Don't be rude!"

The Doctor turned to Wilf, grabbing his arm, "Wilfred!" he called urgently, lightly shoving him towards a double radiation control unit, made of glass, another man stood inside the second compartment, "Get inside," he pulled the door open, running inside, "Get him out!" he slammed a button, releasing the other man, and Wilf took his spot as the Doctor began fiddling with the controls, "Just need to filter the levels…"

"Oh, I can see again!" Wilf exclaimed after a moment, sounding relieved, "He's gone!"

"That'll be the radiation shielding," the Time Lady remarked, jogging over to the glass casing.

The Doctor nodded, "Now, press the button, let me out," he instructed Wilf.

"You what?"

"I can't get out until you press the button," he pointed to were a second red button was on Wilf's side, "That button there".

Wilf pressed the button, releasing the Doctor, who grabbed the Hatter's hand, and ran back to the middle of the room, looking at the Master.

"Fifty seconds and counting!" the Master announced.

"To what?"

He laughed at him, "Ooh, you're going to love this!"

The Doctor and the Hatter frantically ran around the room, desperately trying to stop whatever he was doing as they tried breaking through the locks on the controls, but nothing they did worked.

"What is it, hypnotism?" the Doctor questioned, giving up on the controls, and moving closer towards the Gate, "Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"

The Hatter shook her head slowly, casting her eyes around at all the people, "No…that seems too simple," she frowned, moving to join the Doctor, and looking at the Master, "He wouldn't need the Gate to do that. This is something much, much bigger, isn't it?"

The Master laughed again, pointing towards her, "Good, Hatter," he smirked as he glanced at the Doctor, "No, no, no. They're not going to think like me, they're going to _become_ me!" he held out his arms, "And…zero!"

A wave of bright blue energy shot out of the Gate and the Time Lords exchanged looks, glancing to the Master as his head began spinning rapidly. They looked to the others in the room to see everyone else, save for Wilf, who was holding something, head's all spinning, while they could only watch on in horror.

"No!" the Time Lady shouted, whirling around to look at the Master with wide eyes.

The Doctor's head snapped over to his, holding the Hatter's hand even tighter, "You can't have!" he gasped.

"What is it?" Wilf asked, holding what appeared to be a phone to his ear, "Donna?" he called over it, before looking over to the Time Lords, "Doctor, Hatter!" he shouted desperately, catching their attention, "She's starting to remember!" everyone's heads stopped spinning and they almost seemed to collapse, covering their faces, "What is it?" he demanded angrily, glaring at the Master, "What have you done, you monster?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," the Master glanced innocently at him, "Are you talking to me?"

"Or to me?" Naismith/Master straightened, looking exactly like the Master, only in different clothing, smirking.

"Or to me?" Naismith daughter/Master raised his eyebrows, the Doctor and the Hatter stared.

"Or to me?" another clone smiled broadly.

"Or to us?" three guards straightened and opened there helmet visors, revealing their faces.

"Breaking news," the news reporter/Master announced over the TV, grinning at the Doctor and the Hatter through the screen, "I'm everyone. And everyone in the world is me!"

The image changed to show the President/Master, "I'm the President," he held out his arms, "President of the United States. Look at me!" the audience before him cheered, all looking like the Master, some even standing up and clapping, "Ooh, financial solution," he paused, shaking his head, "Deleted!"

The original Master stepped out of the Gate and walked across the floor, coming to stand before his copies, "The human race was always your favourite, Doctor and Hatter," he began, glancing across to them as they could only stare at him, completely horrified, "But now, there is no human race," he grinned and held out his arms, "There is only the Master race!"

They all began laughing madly, every single copy of the Master all over the world joining him as the Hatter swallowed thickly.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered, closing her eyes tightly.

_**Next chapter, the Doctor considers what might have happened had he never meet the Hatter, our resident Time Lady gets distracted by hats, and a laser pen, anyone? Two more chapters to go, and I can tell you that writing the last few scenes of Ten was so sad. I just kept think that this is going to be the last time (save for the 50**__**th**__** special), that we'll have Ten. Still, I can't wait for us to see how the Hatter reacts to Eleven. Tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest reviews:**_

_**Guest: **__**Who says that there isn't a War Hatter? I've mentioned before that during the Time War she had short brown hair, but yet her Eighth regeneration had **__**long**__** brown hair, so did she simply cut it to save time, or…what? Well, I'm not going to say for certain, I guess you'll just have to wait and see, but I will say that the Hatter didn't fight. She's never been a solider, but she was in a very, very bad place after her children's deaths, and as a result did thing's she would never otherwise have done. Thanks for the review :)**_

_**Guest: **__**If we did get a female Doctor, then yes, we would get a male Hatter. I don't think I could resist using someone like Andrew-Lee Potts, or some else who has played the Mad Hatter. It would just be to perfect not to. Thanks for the review :)**_

_**Guest:**__** Thank you for pointing that out to me, I'll go back and tweak it a little :)**_


	12. Chapter 12 The End of Time (2), part 1

_**The End of Time (2), part 1**_

The Master had his guards take the Doctor, the Hatter, and Wilf to an office, where he had the Doctor strapped into a wheelchair in the middle of the room, legs and arms bound tightly, even one strapping his head down, and with a gage placed over his mouth, while Wilf had been tied to a chair directly across the room with rope. The Hatter had been forced into a second chair beside Wilf's, handcuff and bound with thick, heavy chains around her ankles. She winced as the chains dragged on her, but she supposed that she ought to feel grateful that she hadn't been gaged, though, she didn't doubt that the Master wouldn't if she said something he didn't like.

"Now then," the Master grinned as he leaned closer to the Doctor's face, "I've got a planet to run," he turned away from him, clasping his hands behind his back as he looked over to a screen set up on the left wall of the office, "Is everybody ready?"

The Master/Naismith popped up on the screen, "Six billion, seven hundred and twenty seven billion, nine hundred and forty thousand, three hundred, and thirty eight versions of us awaiting orders".

The Master smirked, casting smug looks over to the Doctor, before glancing at the Hatter, who glared back at him.

"This is Washington," the President/Master called, appearing on the screen, "As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth's defences".

"Unit HQ," the Master/Unit announced next, grinning, "Geneva reporting. All under your command, sir," he tapped his hat.

"And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir," the Master/Chinese General came over, and the original Master turned to Wilf, giving him a wink, who blinked back at him, startled, "With over two point five million soldiers, sir. Present arms!"

The link changed to show an army of Masters standing outside the Forbidden City, all presenting arms in unison.

"Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship," the Master smiled in satisfaction, glancing at the Hatter, "Nothing to say, Hatter?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

The Time Lady took a deep breath, still glaring at him, "Oh, I have a number of choice words to say to you," she seethed, almost shaking with anger, struggling to keep herself from shouting, "None of which are very complimentary!"

He simple laughed at her and turned to the Doctor, "What about you, Doctor?" he asked, his tone turning mocking, "What's that?" he walked closer to him, leaning his head towards him, acting almost worried, "Pardon? Sorry?"

"Leave him alone!" the Hatter snapped angrily, raising her voice, "Haven't you done enough?"

"You let him go, you swine!" Wilf called, almost as angry as the Time Lady.

The Master rolled his eyes at them, "Oh, your dad's still kicking up a fuss," he nodded over to Wilf, "And so is the missus, what a surprise!" he mockingly gasped, shooting the blonde look.

"Yeah?" Wilf glared at him, "Well, I'd be proud if I was!"

The Master put his finger to his lips, moving back into the middle of the room, "Hush, now," he ordered, "Listen to your Master," he began to turn away, when suddenly, a phone began ringing, and his head snapped back to him, his eyes narrowing. He glanced at the Doctor and then to the Hatter, who were both staring at Wilf, before looking back to Wilf, shocked, "But that's…a mobile!" he exclaimed.

Wilf laughed a little awkwardly, "Yeah, it's mine," he admitted, trying to shift in his chair, "Let me turn it off…"

"No, no, no, no, no," he shook his head quickly, holding up a finger to silence him as he stepped closer, "I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me. And _I'm_ not calling you, so who the hell is that?" he knelt on the floor and began roughly trying to search through Wilf's coat.

"It's nobody," he tried to tell him, "I tell you, it's nothing! It's probably one of them ring-back calls…"

"Ooh, look at this," the Master withdrew a revolver from his pocket and held it up for them all to see, the Doctor and the Hatter frowned at it as he turned back to Wilf, "Good man!" he tossed the gun on the ground, going back to searching, when he finally found the phone. He stood, eyeing the screen, "'Donna,'" he read, glancing at Wilf, "Who's Donna?"

The Hatter's eyes flew from the phone to the Master, fearfully as Wilf attempted to distract him, "She's no one," he told him, shaking his head, but he couldn't hide the fear on his face, "Just leave it…"

The Master ignored him and clicked the phone, answering it, "Gramps, don't hang up," Donna's tearful voice came over, and the Time Lady cringed, wishing she could do something to help her, "You've got to help me. I ran out, but everyone was changing!"

"Who is she?" the Master questioned quietly, looking around the room, "Why didn't she change?"

"Gramps, I can't hear you".

Wilf glanced at the Doctor and the Hatter, "Well, it was this thing the Doctor…did," he began, "They…he did it to her. The Metacrisis".

"Oh, he loves playing with Earth girls," he scoffed, sounding disgusted, "Ugh!" he shook his head.

"Are you there?" Donna asked.

"Find her!" the Master called to the Naismith copy over the TV link, "Trace the call!"

"Trace the call!" the Naismith/Master commanded on his side.

"Are you still there?" Donna came over the phone again, sounding even more panicked, and the Hatter winced, closing her eyes tightly, "Can you hear me?"

The Master clicked the phone and moved closer to Wilf, holding it up to his ear, "Say goodbye to the freak, Granddad," he smirked at him.

"Her names Donna," the Hatter's eyes snapped open and she glared furiously at him, "Don't you dare lay a finger on her!"

"Aww, I'm so afraid," he taunted, rolling his eyes.

"Donna, get out of there!" Wilf shouted desperately into the phone, "Just get out of there! I'm telling you, run!"

"She's on Wessex Lane, Chiswick," the Naismith/Master informed them over the link, "Open the phone lines," he ordered someone on his end, "Everyone on Wessex Lane, red alert".

"What do I do?" Donna asked frantically.

"Run, sweetheart, that's all!" Wilf encouraged quickly, "Run for your life!"

A moment past before she gasped, "There's more them".

"Donna? What's happening? Are you still there?"

"They're everywhere…"

"Oh, come on, Donna," the Hatter breathed, her eyes fixed on the phone pressed to Wilf's ear, "Come on, you brave, brilliant woman. You can do this".

"Look, I'm telling you to run, Donna!" Wilf called to her, glancing at the Hatter, who tried to give him a comforting smile, "Just run, sweetheart, just run!"

"It's not just them…" she breathed, terrified, "I can see these things again…those creatures. Why can I see a giant wasp?"

"Donna, don't think about that. Donna, my love, don't!"

"And it hurts," she cried, "My head! It keeps getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter!" she screamed in pain and after a moment past, her voice came over again, sounding soft and confused, "What did I…"

The line went dead and the Hatter relaxed back into her chair, closing her eyes.

"Donna?" Wilf asked after a moment of silence, sounding worried, "What was that?" but there was nothing, "Donna?" the Master's head snapped over to the Doctor, throwing a look at the Hatter, "Donna, are you there?" slowly, the Doctor began smiling behind his gage, giving the Master a wink as the Hatter titled her head back, laughing softly, "Donna! Donna! Donna!"

"Oh, you brilliant, woman!" the Time Lady grinned proudly, shaking her head.

The Master stood and stormed over to the Doctor, undoing the gage around his mouth, "That's better," the Doctor smiled broadly at him, "Hello," he raised his eyebrows at him, "But really, did you think we would leave one of our best friends without a defence mechanism?"

"We knew one day something like this might happen," the blonde told him, still smiling as he glanced over to her, "And we needed to make sure that Donna stayed save, living an ordinary human life," she gave him a look, rolling her eyes, "Surly you're not foolish enough to think we wouldn't do everything we possibly can to protect those we love?"

"Doctor, Hatter, what happened?" Wilf looked at them quickly, deeply concerned.

"She's okay," the Time Lady gave him a comforting smile, wishing she could reach out and wrap her arm around him to try soothing him, "I promise, and I always keep my promises. We made it so that she will sleep when she starts remembering too much," she laughed, thinking about how annoyed Donna was probably going to be, "She won't even remember how she got outside".

The Master glared from the Hatter to the Doctor, coming to rest on the Doctor, "Tell me, where's your TARDIS?" he demanded quietly.

"You could be so wonderful," the Doctor remarked, looking at him closely.

"Where is it?"

"You're a genius," he continued, very serious, "You're stone cold brilliant, you are. I swear, you really are," the Master titled his head, almost as if he was actually considering what he was saying, "But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful," he looked at him almost sadly, "With a mind like that, me, you, and the Hatter could travel the stars. It would be my honour, because you don't need to own the Universe, just see it," he shook his head, "To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space…that's ownership enough".

The Master swallowed, hesitating, "Would it stop, then?" he questioned softly, "The noise in my head?"

"We can help," the Hatter told him gently, and he glanced over to her, "Please, I know I failed you once, but things are so different now. You, the Doctor, and I, we can work together".

He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes filling with tears, almost seeming fearful as he glanced at the Doctor, "I don't know what I would be without that noise," he admitted.

The Doctor eyed him, "I wonder what I'd be, without you," he commented, his eyes drifting over to the Hatter, wondering the same thing about what would have happened had he never meet her.

All the things he had done, either for her or because of her influence on his life, would they still have happened? He knew one thing for certain, and that was that he didn't want to imagine what he would have been like without her over the past few years, having to live with the guilt of the Time War, not being able to truly talk about it with anyone, because how could they possibly understand, unless they had been there, unless they had lost just as much as he had? She had saved him, and she didn't even know it, not really. It had been his promise to her that had pushed him to find someone after the Time War, she had been the reason he had allowed Rose into his life to begin with, all because of that promise.

He couldn't help but wonder what might have happened had she not come back into his life, what would have become between him and Rose? He had to admit, that there had been faint feelings there for her, but then the Hatter came back, and quite honestly, she had been the only one for him, ever since he had been a boy it had only been her, but what if she hadn't? Or what if she hadn't existed at all? Every laugh they had shared, every joy, and every heartache, what if they had never happened? It was a terrifying thought, but nevertheless one that was filled with so many questions, and a great amount of happiness that she was a part of his life.

The Master glanced down at the floor, blinking as he seemed to consider it, "Yeah," he nodded, sniffing as he meet his eyes.

"What does he mean?" Wilf called across the room, frowning, "What noise?"

The Master turned to look at him, "It began on Gallifrey," he started, stepping away from the Doctor, "As children. Not that you'd call it childhood," he scoffed slightly as he moved over to the window, sitting down on a chair that was between two windows, and the Hatter silently agreed, "More a life of duty," he shook his head, "Eight years old. I was taken for initiation, to stare into the Untempered Schism".

"What does that mean?" he asked, confused.

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality," the Hatter explained to him, glancing over to him, "And through it you can see into the very Time Vortex itself…" she sighed, wincing as she recalled her own intuition, remembering how afraid she had been, how she had practically begged her Mother not to let her go, but go she had, because just like so many Gallifreyan children, she hadn't had a choice, "…and it hurts greatly," she finished sadly.

"They took me there in the dark," the Master continued, his tone turning dark as he recalled his own experience, "I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums," he breathed, "The never ending drums," he titled his head back against his chair, closing his eyes, "Listen to it," his eyes opened and he looked over to the Doctor, and then over to the Hatter, "Listen".

"Then let's find it," the Doctor tried again, "You, me, and the Hatter".

"Except…" he paused, his eyes lighting up with realisation, "Oh!" he gasped and stood, "Oh, wait a minute!" slowly, he began to grin, "Oh, yes! Oh, that's good!"

"What's good?" the Time Lady asked cautiously, exchanging a quick look with the Doctor, who was eyeing him worriedly.

"The noise exists within my head, and now within six billion heads!" he gestured out towards one of the doors, growing even more excited, "Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine! Oh…oh, yes!" he began laughing as they could only watch. His face flickered to a skeleton and back again, when he suddenly gave himself a hard shake and sank to a crouch on the floor.

"The Gate wasn't enough," the Doctor realised, looking at him as he panted for breath, "You're still dying!"

"This body was born of death," he replied, shaking his head, "All it can do is die," he frowned as he straightened, looking back and forth between the Doctor and the Hatter, "But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said, 'the end of time'".

The Hatter looked back to the Doctor, knowing that it was possibly there last chance to get through to him, "We said that something is returning," she informed him, trying to hide the hope in her voice, "It was what was shown to us in a prophecy, and that's why we need your help, please".

"What if I'm part of it?" he pointed to himself, looking even more insane then before, "Don't you see?" he looked in-between them both, the Hatter could only stare at him, "The drumbeat is calling from so far away, from the end of time itself!" the Time Lady blinked slightly, something clicking in her mind, but she just couldn't quite grasp what it was yet, "And now it's been amplified six billion times! Triangulate all those signals…I could find the source!" he gasped, "Oh, Doctor and Hatter, that's what your prophecy was," he grinned broadly and threw out his arms, "Me!"

The Time Lady shook her head, "You really have out done yourself this time," she muttered to herself, almost impressed by just how crazy he really had become, but she couldn't deny that he was partly right, though, she doubted that the prophecy had actually been referring to his return. No, something much bigger was at work, every instinct told her that.

Suddenly, the Master whirled around and slapped the Doctor, causing him to flinch as the sound echoed through the room, Wilf gasped, and Time Lady winced, wishing she could run across the room and slap the Master herself…or kick him in a rather sensitive area. Really, she wasn't overly picky.

"Where's the TARDIS?" the Master demanded, his voice surprisingly soft.

"No," the Doctor looked back at him, desperately trying to get through to him as his cheek still stung. Still, it could have been far worse, he could have gone after the Hatter, just as he feared he might, "Just stop," he continued calmly, "Just think".

The Master glanced at the guard standing just off to the side of the wheelchair, pointing back towards Wilf, "Kill him," he ordered.

The guard stepped forward and clicked off the safety on his gun, marching over to Wilf, and pointed the gun at Wilf's head, the Master right behind him.

"I need that technology," he snapped, glancing back and forth between the Doctor and the Hatter, "Tell me where it is, or the old man is dead".

"Don't tell him!" Wilf called at once.

The Hatter titled her head, eyeing the guard curiously, before it hit her. She struggled to keep the concerned look on her face as she glanced across the room the Doctor, who meet her eyes, giving her a small wink, having worked it out, too.

"I'll kill him, right now!" the Master shouted.

The Doctor smiled slightly, shaking his head as much as he could as he eyed the Master, "Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone dead stupid," he remarked lightly.

Unable to stop herself, the Time Lady laughed, "Ooh, you are so getting a high five for that one," she sent him a grin before shrugging, or trying to, "Well…once these annoying restrains are gone, of course".

The Master rolled his neck, looking annoyed as he kept his eyes on them, "Take aim!"

"You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but still can't see the obvious, can you?" the Doctor rolled his eyes, seeming amused.

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know," the Time Lady began casually, struggling to hold back her laughter, "How about the fact that guard is one inch taller then you?"

The Master blinked and turned to look at the guard, when he slammed the butt of his gun into the other man's head, sending him crashing to the floor as he pulled off his helmet, revealing himself to be the male Vinvocci.

"Oh, my God!" he exclaimed, almost panicking as he looked down at the unconscious man at his feet, "I hit him!" he looked back up at them, "I've never hit anyone in my life!"

The office door opened and Addams ran in, "Well, come on!" she ran over to Wilf's chair, pulling out a knife from her pocket, setting to work cutting the ropes, "We need to get out of here fast!"

The other alien ran over to the Doctor and started trying to undo the straps attached to him.

"God bless the cactuses!" Wilf cheered in relief.

"That's _cacti_," the Doctor corrected him.

The man paused in his attempts to undo the straps, looking affronted, "That's racist!"

"Ah, hello!" the Hatter called, shifting in her chair, "Would someone mind helping me?"

Addams finished cutting through the ropes holding Wilf and quickly moved to the Time Lady, "How are we meant to get these chains off?" she sighed in annoyance, slipping the knife inside her pocket.

The blonde gave her a wink, "Inside my waistcoat, on the right side, there's a pocket," she told her quickly, nodding down to her front, "And in there is what looks like an ordinary pen, but it's actually a laser, so do be careful! Just use it on the chains on my legs, the rest can come off once we're away from here".

Addams, still looking annoyed, undid the first few buttons on her waistcoat, and quickly found the pocket, locating the laser pen almost at once, and immediately set to work burning through the chains around her ankles.

"Oh, that's handy," Wilf commented as he moved closer to look for himself.

"I get bored easily," the Hatter replied, forcing herself to remain still, less she end up getting sliced with her own device. Now, that's all they would need.

It only took a moment before the chains fell to the ground and she quickly stood, slightly awkwardly with her hands still cuffed, but they didn't have time to deal with those. Addams slipped the laser into her waistcoat pocket once more.

"This prophecy of yours, Doctor and Hatter," the Naismith/Master came over to the TV link, "Where did it come from?" when they didn't answer, he seemed to frown, "Doctor and Hatter?"

"Come on!" Addams shouted over to her fellow alien, "We've got to get out of here!"

"There's too many buckles and straps!" the man responded as he ran around the chair, trying to undo the Doctor's wrists.

"Just…wheel him!"

"No!" the Doctor's eyes winded as the man did what she said, quickly moving around the back of the chair to start pushing him out the door, "No, no!" he shouted, "Hatter, help me here!"

The Time Lady sent him a sympathetic look, "Sorry, sweetheart, but I'm rather tied up," and she held up her handcuffed hands to emphasise her point, before turning on her heel to follow after Addams.

"Get me out!" he continued shouting, trying to shack the bounds on his wrists lose, "No, no, no, don't! No, no, no!"

The alien wheeled him past the TV with the Naismith/Master on it and off out the door, all the while ignoring the Doctor's shouts.

"What's going on?" the man on the screen demanded, saying loudly, "Doctor!"

"Which way?" the man asked as they made it out into the hall, following Addams.

"This way!" Addams ordered, gesturing ahead of them.

"No, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor called after her urgently, "The other way! We've got the TARDIS…"

"Come on," the Hatter went to turn to head off in the right direction, but Addams grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to keep walking down the hall, since the Time Lady couldn't very well trying fighting her in her still partly restrained state.

"I know what I'm doing!" the woman shook her head stubbornly.

"No, no, no, no! Just…just listen to us!"

The Hatter groaned as she spotted a staircase just ahead of them, "Oh, dear," she sighed heavily, wincing in sympathy, "This really isn't going to go down well".

The Doctor seemed to catch sight of it a moment later, "Not the stairs!" he yelled, even more frantically then before, "Not the stairs! Don't!" the aliens simply ignored him as they pushed him down the stairs, the Doctor grunting with every step as Wilf hurried along behind him, "Worst…rescue…ever!" he complained as they reached the bottom.

"It could have been worse, sweetheart," the Time Lady said, trying to hide the hint of amusement she was feeling, "They could have left us alone with the Master, and I don't know about you, but I would take being wheeled down stairs over staying with him any day".

Addams rolled her eyes, not as amused as the blonde as she led them into the basement control room.

"Just…just stop and listen to me!" the Doctor tried again, when they came to a stop, just as the Master/guards ran into the room on either side of them, blocking there exit. They aimed their guns at them, ready to fire as the original Master ran in behind them, grinning.

"Gotcha!" he laughed at them.

Addams raised her eyebrows at him, "You think so?" she lifted up her wrist and pressed her wristwatch.

"No, no, no…don't!" the Doctor and the Hatter both shouted, realising what she was doing, "Don't!"

But it was already too late and they teleported away from the basement, and onto the Vinvocci ship, hovering above the Earth.

"Now get me out of this thing!" the Doctor began struggling almost at once with his bounds, growing in frustration as he tried to use his shoes to undo the strap around his ankles.

"Don't say thanks, will you!" Addams gave him a glare.

The Hatter shook her head, feeling useless with her hands cuffed, "The Master won't just let us skip away," she informed the aliens, sounding slightly annoyed herself, "Now, hurry up and get him free!"

Wilf wondered away from them and over towards the window, staring out at it in awe, "Oh, my goodness me…" he breathed, taking it in, "We're in space!"

"Come on!" the Doctor snapped at the other two aliens.

"All right!" Addams sighed and moved forwards to start undoing the straps.

"Get a move on! Come on!"

Finally, they managed to get the straps off him enough so that he could jump off the chair, grabbing his sonic out of his pocket as he ran towards the teleport controls, and flashed the sonic at them, making sure the Master couldn't follow. The control panel exploded, sending sparks flying everywhere as Wilf jumped. He quickly turned to the Hatter and flashed her handcuffs with the sonic, releasing her, and causing the cuffs to fall onto the floor.

"Oh, that feels so much better," the Time Lady smiled happily as she began rubbing at her tender wrists from where the metal had rubbed against her skin.

The Doctor gently took her wrists, examining them quickly to make sure that there wasn't any last damage, before taking her hand, "Where's your flight deck?" he glanced at the aliens.

"But we're safe," Addams frowned at him, confused, "We're a hundred thousand miles above the Earth".

"And the Master has every signal missile at his disposal," the Hatter reminded her.

She blinked, opening and closing her mouth, "Good point," she finally nodded, running off down a hallway, leading them to the flight deck, but the blonde paused, and ran back to Wilf, who was still staring outside.

"Come on," she smiled slightly as she began to guide him away, and after the others.

"But we're in space!" he pointed outside, towards the Earth, as if she hadn't realised.

She laughed and patted his arm, "Indeed we are," she agreed, "But let's admire it later, okay?"

Wilf chuckled weakly, and they quickly followed after the others through the ship, catching up with them, just as they reached the flight deck.

"We've got to close it done!" the Doctor called to the aliens as they ran into the room, and up to where the controls all were.

The man shook his head, fiddling with one of the computers, "No chance, mate," he replied, "We're going home".

"We're just a selvage team!" Addams added, "Local politics has got nothing to do with us," she shrugged, "Not unless there's a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better".

The Doctor glanced over to them as the Hatter crossed her arms across her chest, "We're _not_ leaving," he said firmly, flashing his sonic at the controls, causing them spark violently, and sending the entire ship into darkness, save for the light coming off the Earth. The engines slowly cut out, too.

The Hatter quickly placed her finger of her lips, casting the others stern looks when they opened there mouth, "Shush, shush," she hushed them as the ship creaked loudly.

A few tense moments past were no one dared even move, simply waiting. After a long moment of nothing happening, the Time Lords relaxed slightly as the man moved over to the controls, flicking a switch, but nothing happened.

Addams peered outside the window, glancing over to them, "No sign of any _missiles_," she remarked quietly, shrugging, "No sign of…anything," she glared at them, raising her voice, "You've wrecked the place!"

"The engines are burnt out," the man sighed, trying to keep his own temper under control as the Time Lords exchanged a look, the Time Lady feeling slightly guilty, but they really didn't have much of a choice, "All we've got is auxiliary lights," he continued, hitting a button, and lights flickered on around the room, "Everything else is kaput. We can't move," he shook his head, "We're stuck in orbit".

Addams turned on them again, "Thanks to you two, you idiots!" she shouted, storming off with her partner.

The Hatter stared after them, sighing heavily as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "Oh, lovely," she commented, "Just what we need, more people annoyed at us".

Wilf looked in-between the Time Lords, "I know you two, though," he nodded to them both, "I bet you've got a plan, haven't you? Eh? Come on! You've always got a trick up your sleeve," he smiled at them, "Nice little bit of the old Doctor and Hatter flim-flam," he chuckled, "…sort of thing? Eh?" the Time Lords glanced at him, both looking grim, and his face fell, "Oh, blimey".

The Time Lady looked over to him, wincing at the look on his face, "Don't worry, Wilf," she stepped over to him, patting his arm, trying to sound bright and cheerful, "We'll think of something. We always do, don't you worry about it," she glanced at the Doctor, who was look back at, before fixing a smile to her face she turned back to the other man, "Now, how about you go and have a wonder around? It's not every day you get to explore a spaceship, hey?"

His eyes brightened at the mention of being on a spaceship, and he nodded, "All right, then," he straightened and began heading off to see the rest of the ship, "I'll leave you two to it".

They watched him as he left, making sure he was out of earshot when the Doctor turned to the Hatter, "What was that all about?" he blinked at her.

"He needed cheering up and a little spark of hope," she shrugged, casting a look around the controls, "And we will need to get back to Earth soon enough, we might as well fix what we did, and come up with a plan while doing so, too".

"Do you really think we have any chance of winning this time?"

"We always have a chance if we work together, sweetheart. Don't lose hope just yet. Now, come on".

And with that, she grabbed his arm and began pulling him back to the teleport room.

….

The Doctor was leaning on his side as he fiddled with some wiring and cables, while the Time Lady sat beside him, helping him.

"You know…" the Hatter said after a long moment of silence, glancing at the Doctor, "Something occurred to me earlier".

He looked up at her, curiously, "What?"

"It was just something to do with the beat inside the Master head. He mentioned that it's calling to him from the 'so far away'".

"So?"

She gave him a look, "What if it's a signal?" she wondered aloud, making him pause, "I mean, four beats is very precise, why not five or six? What is it about four beats that are meaningful?"

For a long moment the Doctor thought it over, titling his head in a very Hatter like fashion, "Mathematically or to the Master, specifically?"

"To the Master," she replied, thinking deeply, "What connection could that number have to the Master…" she trailed off, her eyes widening, "…oh," she breathed.

He looked at her worriedly, "What is it?"

"He said it himself, 'every beat of my hearts,'" she suddenly jumped forwards, taking the Doctor completely by surprise as she grabbed him, and pressed her ear to his chest, "Stop moving!" she scolded and he stilled, staring down at her in confusion and alarm, "Yes," she remarked softly after a moment, pulling away from him, a slightly teasing look crossing her face, "Did you know that your heartbeats started beating faster when I was close to you?"

He gave her a slightly amused look, "That tends to happen when the woman I love is pressed to my chest, Hatter," he pointed out.

She laughed, "Ah, yes," she shook her head in a mock disappointed way, "It's harder to tease you now that I know the truth".

"Trust me, it's never going to be hard for you to find ways to tease me, I've thought the same thing and you always surprise me".

The Time Lady laughed again and kissed him, before pulling back.

He raised his eyebrows at her, smiling, "Are you going to explain what that was all about?"

"The kiss or me listening to your hearts?" she questioned innocently.

"See what I mean about the teasing?"

She grinned and ruffled his hair affectionately, "Oh, okay," she nodded as she settled back to her original position, "Now, mind you, I haven't quite figured out all the details, but I think I've worked out what that sound is".

"Well?" he urged when she didn't say anything more.

The blonde lost her smile and sighed slightly, "I have no idea at this point how it works, or what it even means, but…" she hesitated, knowing that if it was anyone else they would call her mad, which or though she admitted that her sanity was debatable at the best of times, the Doctor was hardly one to talk about being completely mentally sound, "I think that…well, I think it's two hearts beating. A _Time Lords _heartbeats".

The Doctor stared at her, seeming shocked by her answer, "That…" he shook his head, "Okay, let's say that it is a Time Lords heartbeats, what does it mean? What is it a signal for? And why place it in a child's head in the first place?"

The Hatter groaned and covered her face, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "I don't know, and I think I might have opened up a box that's just filled with even more questions, rather than answers".

He laughed slightly, nodding in agreement when something caught his eyes. He grabbed the Hatter's hand, catching her attention as she pulled her hands away from her face, and following his gaze out the window to see something bright white streaking across space. They both stood and moved closer to the window, watching as it fell towards the Earth over England. They exchanged a weary look, both knowing that it couldn't possibly be just an ordinary meteor, not with their luck.

Slowly, they returned to working on the wires and cables, and after a few minutes Wilf walked in, "Aye, aye," he greeted them, "Got this old tub mended?"

"Just trying to fix the heating," the Doctor replied, glancing up from the cable he just slotted into place.

"Oh," he nodded and came to sit down beside the Hatter, wincing slightly, "I've always dreamt of a view like that," he pointed over to the window, grinning excitedly as they looked up, and over to the window, "Hee, hee, I'm an astronaut!" the Time Lady smiled at how happy he was, watching as he clapped his hands on his knees, "It's dawn over England, look," he pointed again towards the planet, "Brand new day…" he paused, sighing sadly, "My wife's buried down there. I might never visit her again," he looked at the Time Lords, "Do you think he changed them, in their graves?"

"Oh, Wilfred," the Hatter looked at him sadly, reaching out and taking his hand, squizzing it gently.

The Doctor looked at him regretfully, "We're sorry".

He shook his head, "No, it's not your faults".

"Isn't it?"

"No, it's not," the Hatter said firmly, giving him a sharp look, "This was the Master doing, we didn't force him to do any of this".

"She's right," Wilf nodded in agreement to the Hatter.

The Doctor smiled slightly, casting her a fond look, "She usually is".

"Well, I've certainly have you well trained," the blonde laughed, nudging his side.

Wilf looked back to the window, "Ooh…1948, I was over there," he pointed over to the Earth, "End of the Mandate in Palestine. Private Mott," he smiled slightly, remembering, "Skinny little idiot, I was. Stood on this rooftop, in the middle of a skirmish," the Hatter glanced at the Doctor, concerned, knowing that he was thinking about his own time as a solider during the Time War, "It was like a blizzard, all those bullets in the air," he shook his head, "The world gone mad," he chuckled slightly, glancing at them, "Yeah, you don't want to listen to an old man's tales, do you?"

"We're older then you," the Time Lady informed him, sounding highly amused, "And by a long shot, too".

He waved her off, "Get away".

"I'm nine hundred and six," the Doctor told him, and nodded to the Hatter, "And she's nine hundred and five".

She shrugged, "My birthday's next month," she added.

Wilf stared at them, "What, really, though?"

"Yeah," they nodded.

"Nine hundred years…" he breathed, "We must look like insects to you".

"We think you look like giants".

He inhaled after a moment and reached inside his coat, pulling out the revolver, holding it out towards them, "Listen, I…I want you to have this," he began, "I kept it all this time, and I thought…"

"No," the Doctor shook his head as the Hatter leaned backwards slightly away from the gun.

"No…but if you take it, you could…"

"No," he said more firmly.

The Hatter eyed Wilf as he lowered his hand, "That gun…you had it with you at the mansion," she titled her head, "You could have shot the Master, and yet you didn't," she smiled slightly towards the end.

"Too scared, I suppose," Wilf shrugged, sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, no, Wilf, because the very fact that you didn't _use_ that gun shows just how _brave_ you are".

"I'd be proud," the Doctor suddenly told him, very serious.

"Of what?" he frowned in confusion.

"If you were my Dad," he clarified, growing teary, and the Hatter smiled softly at him.

"No, come on, don't start," Wilf shook his head at him as they looked back to him, smiling at him. He looked away and down the gun in his hands, turning around before glancing at the Doctor, pressing his hand to his mouth, "But you said…you were told 'he will knock four times,' and then you die," he continued after a moment, hesitating, "Well, that's him, isn't it? The Master. That noise in his head?" he pointed to his own head as the Doctor looked away, swallowing, "The Master is going to kill you".

The Hatter closed her eyes, wincing at the thought of having to say goodbye.

"Yeah," the Doctor sighed, sounding resigned.

"Then kill him first," Wilf offered the gun to him again, looking determined.

The Time Lady swallowed thickly, "And that's how the Master began," she looked at him grimly, "He wasn't always like this, we used to be friends, and then…he changed," she paused, looking down at the floor, "And we can hardly claim to be innocent, either," she closed her eyes painfully, thinking about all those who had died indirectly because of her. She might never have taken a life with her own hands, but her actions had resulted in people's deaths.

"I've taken lives," the Doctor admitted, reaching out and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly as he felt a lump form in his throat, "I got worse, I got clever," he shook his head in self-disgust, "Manipulated people into taking their own…"

The Hatter looked up and gave him a comforting look, wrapping her arm around him, whishing she could be of more comfort to him.

He sighed, leaning his head on top of the Time Lady's, "Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long," he remarked quietly. He glanced down at the gun, "I can't," he shook his head tiredly, "I just can't".

"If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?" Wilf asked.

"I don't know".

"Doctor, what happens?" his tone turned firm.

The Hatter meet his eyes, "The template would snap".

"What, they'd go back to being human?" he questioned and they nodded, "They're alive…and human," the Time Lords nodded again, and his face grew hard and angry, "Then don't you dare, sir, ma'am! Don't you _dare_ put him before _them_!" he held out the gun to the Doctor again, "Now you take this. That's an order, Doctor. Take the gun," he tried pressing it into his hands, "You take the gun and save your like. And…please don't die," his eyes began filling with tears, "You're the most wonderful man and I don't want you to die," he began sobbing, his hands shaking as the Hatter blinked back tears, touched by how much he cared for the Doctor.

The Doctor took a deep breath, looking at Wilf with sympathy as he gently pushed the gun away, "Never," he shook his head.

Wilf sniffed, staring at him.

"A star fell from the sky," the Master voice called through the ship. The Time Lords looked up, not surprised in the slightest as Wilf gasped in shock, "Don't you want to know where from? Because now it makes sense, Doctor, Hatter. My whole life, my destiny," the Time Lords exchanged a look, "The star was a diamond. And the diamond was a Whitepoint Star!" they gasped in horror as the Time Lady's eyes flew down to her engagement ring, just to make sure that it wasn't a trick, that he hadn't somehow managed to steal one from her ring, but they were all there, intact, "And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching. This is going to be _spectacular_! Over and out".

The broadcast ended and the Time Lords were left breathing heavily, looks of stunned horror on their faces as they clutched at each other's hands, both of them very pale with fear.

"Oh, please…_no_," the Hatter gasped, feeling herself trembling.

"What's he on about?" Wilf asked, frowning as he glanced at them, "What's he doing? Doctor, Hatter, what does that mean?"

"A Whitepoint Star is only found on one planet," the Doctor breathed, swallowing hard, "Gallifrey! Which means…"

"The Time Lords!" the Time Lady's voice shook as she spoke, "The Time Lords are returning!"

"Well, I mean, that's good, isn't it?" Wilf looked at them eagerly, "I mean, that's your people!"

The Doctor snatched up the gun, holding it up, and staring at it, his finger on the trigger. He glanced at the Hatter, before jumping to his feet, tucking the gun into his pocket, the Time Lady right on his heels as they ran out of the room, and back through the ship to the flight deck. They ran over to one of the controls, hitting a button, and four beats began sounding throughout the room, over and over again.

"I said so," the Hatter shook her head grimly, glancing at the Doctor as Wilf entered the room behind them, "It's a signal, and it's coming from Gallifrey!"

Addams, who had been working at the controls with her partner, looked up, "What's that?" she frowned.

The other alien checked the computer, "Coming from Earth," he told them, "It's on every single wavelength".

The Time Lords breathed heavily, still clutching onto each other's hands as the two other aliens turned to look down at the Earth. After a few moments they shook themselves and began running around the controls, knowing what they had to do next.

"But you said your people were dead," Wilf watched as they rushed around, working on bits and pieces, "Past tense".

"Yes, but inside the Time War," the Hatter nodded as she quickly typed something onto one of the controls, "And the entire War was Time locked," she knelt on the ground and disappeared underneath one of the computers, just her boots in sight as she worked on connecting a couple of wires.

"Like, sealed inside a bubble," the Doctor tried to explain as he finished reactivating a piece of equipment, pausing as he glanced back at him, "It's not a bubble but just think of a bubble…"

"I don't think that's simplifying it, Doctor!" the Time Lady called from under computer, her voice muffed.

"Right," he nodded, flicking a couple of switches, "Anyway, nothing can get in or get out of the Time lock," he looked across to Wilf, "Don't you see? Nothing can get in or get out, except something that was already there!"

"The signal!" Wilf gasped in realisation as the Hatter reappeared, a smug of grease on her right cheek, "Since he was a kid!"

"If they follow the signal, they can escape before they die".

"Well, then, big reunion!" he smiled broadly, turning to watch as both Time Lords began working together on one of the controls, "We'll have a party!"

"There's not going to be any party with balloons or those fun, paper party hats that I do find so amusing," the Hatter shook her head, her voice firm before she paused, titling her head, "Though, I admit, it's a shame…maybe I should get one of those hats, anyway".

The Doctor cleared his throat, casting her a look, knowing how easily she could be distracted by the topic of hats, "I can't believe I'm telling _you_ this, Hatter, but focus".

She blushed slightly, giving him an apologetic look, "Yes, today does seem to be just getting worse and worse, doesn't it?"

Wilf frowned at them, looking confused, "But I've heard you talk about your people like they're wonderful," he commented.

"That's how we choose to remember them, the Time Lords of old," the Doctor informed him grimly, exchanging a look with the Time Lady as he ran across to the other side of the room, "But then they went to war, and it changed them right to the core," he glanced over to him, flashing his sonic at one of the panels, "You've seen our enemies, Wilf. The Time Lords are more dangerous than any of them!"

"Time Lords, what _Lords_?" Addams repeated, looking at them as if they were insane, "Anyone want to explain?" she looked around at them all.

"Right, yes, you!" he turned to her, pointing, "This is a salvage ship, yes?" he glanced around, "You go trawling the asteroid fields for junk?"

She nodded, eyeing him, "Yeah, what about it?"

The Hatter grinned, "Which means you have asteroid lasers!"

"Yeah, but they're all frazzled," the second alien reminded them, shaking his head.

The Time Lady ran across the room, over to a lever, "And now, there not!" she told them brightly, throwing the lever, and doors off to the side of the room slid open, leading to the laser controls.

"You, there…" the Doctor pointed at Addams, looking frustration, "What's your name?" he shook his head, not waiting for her to reply, "I'm going to need you on navigation," he pointed to her partner, "And you, get in the laser-pod".

The man stared at him, seeming confused as to what to actually do, while his partner looked annoyed.

The Time Lords hurried over to Wilf, "Wilfred!" they called to him, coming to a stop in front of him.

"Yeah?" he blinked, surprised.

The Hatter gave him a wide smile and a wink, "Laser number two," she instructed him.

"The old soldier's got one more battle," the Doctor added.

Wilf clapped his hand on his shoulder, giving the Time Lady a nod, smiling softly as he moved to stand.

"This ship _can't_ move," Addams rolled her eyes at them as they stepped over to the front of the deck, "It's dead!"

"Oh, didn't we mention?" the Hatter glanced at her, grinning cheekily, "We fixed the heating," and with that, the Doctor pushed two large levers, and the entire ship started up again, the engine humming loudly back into life.

"But now they can see us!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor called in agreement, high fiving with the Hatter.

Addams took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, "This is my ship, and you're not moving it. Step away from the wheel".

"There's an old Earth saying, Captain. A phrase of great power and wisdom, and consolation to the soul in need".

"What's that, then?"

The Time Lords looked at each other, shouting in unison, "Allons-y!"

And with that, they grabbed the controls, sending the ship flying down towards the Earth, throwing Wilf and the aliens around.

_**Who else watched the latest Doctor Who trailer? It looks like the new season is going to be brilliant, hopefully a bit better than some of the last seasons episodes, anyway. And what about Maisie Williams role? I'm caught between her being Doctor's daughter, Jenny, or Susan, probably more Susan then Jenny, since what she said in the trailer sounds more like Susan. What do you guy's think? Either way, it should be interesting to see what happens. Tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest review: **_

_**The Artist: **__**Aww, thank you. I'm glad you liked it, you have no idea how happy it always makes me to hear that. I end up doing the same thing, which can be quite annoying at times, but it does make it easier to come up with ideas for bits of banter/flirting. It was actually the first time I've ever watched Ten regenerate and not cried when I was writing that chapter, which was good because I managed to write it, but weird at the same time, and Eleven is possibly even more fun to write then Ten was. Thanks for the review :)**_


	13. Chapter 13 The End of Time (2), Part 2

_**The End of Time (2), Part 2.**_

"Come on!" the Doctor called through his teeth as he and the Hatter, who was using one hand to hold on tightly to a railing just behind them while helping him to pilot, sent the ship speeding at an alarming rate towards the Earth. After a moment, they hit the atmosphere, "Come on…!"

"You are blinking, flipping mad!" Addams shouted at them, gesturing angrily.

"Oh, we know!" the Hatter laughed, knowing that she really ought not to be enjoying herself, but…well, how could she not?

"You two!" the Doctor glanced around to see that Wilf and the second alien hadn't moved, "What did we say? Lasers!"

"What for?" the second alien asked, his eyes half closed against the bright golden glow coming off the atmosphere outside the window.

The Time Lady shook her head, looking over to him, "Because of those nasty things called missiles!" she yelled over all the noise, "The Master's going to be throwing everything that Earth's got at us, and we're going to have to fight it!"

The man blinked in alarm and ran off towards the laser pods, Wilf running to the second pod. The ship broke free of the atmosphere, hitting the bright blue and sunny sky of Earth as they flew further towards the ground, and skimmed across the ocean.

"We've got incoming!" Addams suddenly called to them, looking at the navigation system.

"Oi!" the Hatter shouted to Wilf and the second alien, "Open fire, right now!"

The Doctor turned the ship sharply, only just avoiding a missile, and causing the Time Lady to let off a string of Gallifreyan curse words as she almost lost her grip on the railing, "Open fire!" he repeated loudly, "Come on, Wilf!"

Finally, they began shooting there lasers at the missiles, managing to hit and destroy a few, all the while the Doctor continued to weave and duck the ship around, when things finally seemed to settled down and they levelled out.

"And there's more!" Addams announced, and the Time Lady groaned loudly, "Sixteen of them," her tone turned sarcastic, "Oh, and another sixteen!"

"Get to the rear gun lasers!" the Hatter ordered her quickly, glancing back over to her, watching as she struggled to her feet, and began running out of the room, struggling to stop herself from being tossed around.

"You two, open fire!" the Doctor shouted to the two men, sounding even more urgent, knowing that there was a storm of missiles right behind them, "Now!"

The lasers started firing again, causing several missiles to explode in mid-air as the Doctor ducked and severed the ship from side to side, just trying to avoid being hit.

"Doctor, look out!" the Time Lady called suddenly, noticing on one of the screens a missile heading towards them from the two men's blind spot.

He quickly spotted what she was talking about, growing even more determined, "No, you don't!" he turned the ship upside down in a full circle, causing the Time Lady to let out a yelp, Addams screamed from behind them before they levelled out again, giving Wilf and the second alien the chance to destroy even more missiles, ducking more violently then before, "Come on! Fire!"

They served out of the way of the last missile, and as it exploded, the force caused the entire front window of the ship to smash, sending shards of glass flying at the Time Lords as they threw themselves towards the floor, shielding their faces. The Hatter winced, her hat flying off somewhere as she felt a shard cut her left arm, but it didn't seem to be very deep, thankfully.

"Lock the navigation!" she yelled over to Addams, who had returned to her seat at the navigation controls as she straightened, her eyes half closed against the presser of the wind flying through the broken window, and the pain.

"Onto what?" Addams asked, loudly.

"England!" the Doctor replied, "The Naismith mansion!" they allowed her a few moments as they finally reached land, flying over it, "Destination?"

"Fifty klicks and closing!" she reported, "We've locked on to the house. We are going to stop, though?" she grew slightly worried when they didn't answer, there gazes fixed in front of them, "Doctor, Hatter? We are going to stop?"

Wilf stumbled onto the flight deck, "Doctor?" he called over to him as the second alien entered the room, "Doctor, you said you were going to die…!"

"He said _what_?" Addams demanded.

"But is that all of us?" he continued, "I won't stop you, sir, ma'am. But…is this it?"

The Hatter glanced at the Doctor, wincing again, but this time not from pain, but because of the bitter, hard look on his face before she looked over to Wilf, "Oh, you've still got a good few years left in you, Wilfred," she smiled at him, "We would never take that away from you".

The Doctor aimed the ship at the mansion, only just pulling up right before hitting it. He turned to the Hatter, who gave him a determined look, and he smiled grimly as he took her hand, running over to a hatch in the floor a short distance away from the controls. They knelt on the ground, pulling the lid off, and tossing it to the side, and he pulled out the gun with one hand still tightly in the Time Lady's. They looked up and meet Wilf's eyes, giving him a nod.

The Hatter swallowed, trying to prepare herself for what was to come, knowing that the impact, or though wouldn't kill them, certainly wouldn't be pleasant either. She glanced at the Doctor, who meet her eyes, giving him a small smile, and…they jumped through the hatch, hands still interlocked. The force of the wind and presser around them as they plummeted down towards the mansion was so strong that they almost lost their grip on each other's hands, but they somehow managed to hold on as they crashed painfully through the large glass dome in the ceiling of the mansion, landing heavily on the very hard, marble floor, right in the middle of the room.

The Time Lady gasped for breath, one side of her face pressed painfully onto the floor, arching all over as she could feel multiple cuts all over her body and face, her clothing had been torn and sliced through from the glass, and she could already feel blood beginning to trickle from the cuts and abrasions. She struggled to open her eyes to see that the Doctor was in a similar state to her, right beside her, panting for breath, but somehow, amazingly, had actually managed to keep hold of the gun.

He groaned loudly as he tried to lift the weapon, struggling to try aiming it across the room, where in the place of the Gate, surrounded by a bright white light, stood Rassilon himself with four Time Lords behind him, two of which, a man and woman, with their heads bowed and faces covered. He struggled for a moment with the gun, but he was too weak, and his hand fell limply to the floor with a clatter, gasping for breath.

"My Lord Doctor," Rassilon began as he stepped forward, watching them, his tone almost angry, "My Dame Hatter," he cast her a long look, seeming to be actually enjoying seeing them in pain as he looked across the opposite end of the room, and over to the Master, "My Lord Master," he smirked slowly, "We are gathered for the end".

The Doctor and the Hatter stared up at him in agony as they both tried to help each other to their knees, groaning and wincing with every clumsy movement they made, before finally pulling themselves up right, and leaning against one another for support, panting for breath. The Doctor cast the Hatter a worried look, swallowing painfully as he took in the bleeding cut on her lip that was trickling blood down her already bruised chin, a nasty cut ran across her left cheekbone, and her hair was completely wild looking with knots and tangles, bits of broken glass caught through it. He ran his eyes down the rest of her, taking in the tattered sleeves of her white shirt, now splattered with blood, her waistcoat was torn, though her trousers had fared better, being leather, and as had her boots.

"Listen to me," he slowly looked up at Rassilon, crying out desperately, "You can't!"

"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes that the hands of our most infamous child," Rassilon cut across him, looking over to the Master.

The Hatter laughed hollowly, her voice sounding strained from pain, "Oh, you think he's saving you?" she scoffed, shaking her head weakly, "Can't you see what he's doing?"

"Hey, no, hey!" the Master called over to them, putting his finger to his lips, looking slightly annoyed, "That's mine. Hush," he cast them glares before looking back to Rassilon, holding out his arms, "Look around you," he told him proudly, "I've transplanted myself into every single human being," he shrugged, "But who wants a mongrel little species like them? Because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord," he smirked as Rassilon inhaled deeply, "Oh, yes, Mister President, sir! Standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me!" he gestured to himself.

Rassilon raised his eyebrows, smiling almost mockingly as he held up his left hand, covered in a metal gauntlet that began to glow bright blue. The Master's smile vanished as the Time Lady swallowed, eyeing the glove carefully, having witnessed herself just what it could do as Rassilon opened his hand, and all around the room, the Master's copies began shaking their heads rapidly, just as they had when they had been changed.

"No, no, don't!" the Master cried, looking frantically around at them all, sounding like a child, "No, no, stop it!" he demanded at Rassilon, "No, no, no, don't!"

Rassilon simply watched on calmly as every human returned to normal, almost collapsing as their heads stopped shaking, "On your knees, mankind," he ordered the humans.

The humans stared at him, frightened as they fell to their knees.

"No, that's fine," the Master shook his head, a note of desperation entering his voice as he looked back to Rassilon, "That's good, because you said 'salvation!' I still_ saved_ you!" he pointed at him quickly, "Don't forget that!"

The entire room began shaking and a dull rumbling sound echoed around them as the Doctor and Hatter exchanged a look.

Rassilon smiled broadly as he looked up at the ceiling, "The approach begins!"

The Master looked at the Doctor and the Hatter, frowning in confusion, "Approach of what?" he asked them.

"'Somethings returning,'" the Doctor replied, glaring at him angrily through clenched teeth, "Don't you ever listen? That was the prophecy," he shook his head, "Not _someone_, _something_!"

"What is it?"

"Oh, you fool!" the Hatter almost cried with anger and frustration, "The Time Lords aren't just bringing back the species, they're bringing Gallifrey back!" she shouted at him as his eyes winded, "Here and now!"

The room shook even harder, the rumbling noise increased as they looked up at the shattered remains of the dome to see the burning red and orange planet appear in the sky above them. The humans screamed in panic and fear, running as fast as they could out of the room, all the while Rassilon watched on, still smiling. The Master fell to his knees, his face filled with victory.

"But I…I did this," he laughed, "I get the credit!" he looked to Rassilon, "I'm on your side!"

"Come on, get out of the way!" the Doctor and the Hatter looked up and over to see Wilf running into the room, pushing through the humans, "Doctor? Hatter?" he paused as he noticed them.

A man pounded frantically on the glass door of one of the radiation compartments, catching Wilf's attention, "Help me, please!" he begged desperately, "Somebody, please…"

"All right!" Wilf called, hurrying over to him, "I've got you, mate…"

The Doctor's eyes winded as all he and the Time Lady could do was watch, helplessly from the ground, "Wilf, don't…" they tried to call to him.

It was too late, Wilf opened the second compartment door and stepped through, "I've got you," he told the man, hitting the red button on his door, trapping himself inside as he released the other man, "Come on. Go on".

The Doctor and the Hatter groaned, hanging their heads weakly, the Time Lady blinking back tears as the second human man escaped.

The room shook violently as the Master glanced up at Gallifrey in the sky above them, "But this is fantastic, isn't it?" he grinned, trying to mask the fear in his voice as he looked back to Rassilon, standing slowly as he glanced at the Doctor and the Hatter, who both looked at him furiously, "The Time Lords restored!"

"You have no idea what you're even talking about!" the Hatter snapped at him, shaking with anger as his eyes widened slightly at the fury in her voice, "You weren't there to see the things that were born, and if the Time Lock's broken…" she shook her head, swallowing thickly, "Then that mean's everything's coming through, and I'm not just talking about the Daleks!"

"But the Skaro Degradations," the Doctor continued, just as angry as the Time Lady, if not more so, "The Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-have been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres," his faces darkened, "The War turned into hell!"

"And all those people who died trying to fight against those beings," the Time Lady added, shaking her head as she glared at the Master, "You never asked, not once, about what happened to my sister. You might never have cared for her, not really, but you never asked," her tone turned cold with barely supressed fury, "She was killed protecting a group of children, and now look what you have done! You have allowed her murders to return, and you don't even care, do you?" she looked away from him in disgust, "The War turned into hell, and now hell is descending upon us all".

The Master, looking slightly paler then before, swallowed as he looked back to Rassilon, "My kind of world," he smirked, but he still looked startled by what they had told him.

"Just listen!" the Doctor shouted at him, "Because not even the Time Lords can't survive that!"

"We will initiate the Final Sanction," Rassilon smiled slowly, "The end of time will come at _my_ hand," he glanced at the Doctor and the Hatter, "The rupture will continue until it rips the Time Vortex apart!"

"That's suicide!" the Master said sharply, looking at him in alarm.

"We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be".

The Doctor and the Hatter looked at the Master, raising their eyebrows, "You see now?" they questioned him, "That's what they were planning in the final days of the War," they exchanged a dark, painful look.

"And that's why I gave him the Moment," the Hatter went on, closing her eyes tightly, taking a deep breath as she remembered that night, that awful night that he came to her and told her, how he had begged her to come with him after she had given him that device, and how she had refused, making him promise her that he would find someone to be there for him. The War had been too much for her, the death of her children, and the loss of so many other's had almost destroyed her to such a point that she no longer felt like she could go on, the pain and grief was simply too much for her to bear any longer.

She had acted selfishly, she freely admitted that, and the moment that she realised what she had done, the agony she was putting the Doctor through, she had known that she needed to fix it, somehow, but it had already been too late. He had left, and it was too dangerous to try sending him a message, knowing that any form of communication was being watched…and that's when she formed the plan to escape the only way that she knew she could, by becoming human. It wasn't the most ideal escape plan, not when she couldn't be sure that the Doctor would even find her, but she hadn't had much of a choice.

Sadly, the plan hadn't gone completely right. She had thought that he could at least find her by recognising her face, but on her way to her TARDIS, she had been hit by a Dalek's laser. She hadn't even seen the shot coming, just the sound of glass smashing, and the suddenly the terrible pain in her back. Luckily, the Dalek hadn't even noticed her, and she had managed to half stagger, half crawl to her TARDIS, but the damage had already been done, and regeneration had set in. She suspected that was why she had such trouble remembering her time as a human, because she had still been regenerating when she had become human, quite honestly, she was amazed her plan had worked, let alone that the Doctor had still managed to find her, even with a brand new face.

The Doctor took the Hatter's hand, his body still feeling weak as he squeezed it gently, his thumb running across her cut knuckles. He could practically feel her guilt coming off her in waves, knowing that she was remembering that night, and even though he had spent years angry and grief-stricken, completely confused as to why she had refused to come with him, he understood now, and was simply relieved to have her back, "And I had to stop them," he finished, looking back at the Master.

"Then…" the Master swallowed, looking troubled by the information as he looked back to Rassilon, "…take me with you, Lord President," he held out his arms, "Let me ascend into glory!" he fell to his knees.

Rassilon looked at him, his face turning to a look of disgust, "You are diseased," he spat at him, and his face fell, "Albeit a disease of our own making," he shook his head, "No more," he raised his gloved hand and it began to glow, preparing to aim at the Master, when…a loud click echoed around the room.

The Doctor had pulled himself to his feet and was pointing the revolver at Rassilon, his finger on the trigger, ready to fire as the Hatter painfully pulled herself to stand beside him, swallowing hard as she looked from the Doctor, to the gun, and over to Rassilon.

"Choose your enemy well," Rassilon warned them as he paused, "We are many. The Master is but one".

"But he's the President," the Master called to them from behind them, "Kill him, and Gallifrey could be yours!"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes and whirled around, aiming his gun at the Master instead as Rassilon lowered his gloved hand. The Hatter's eyes flew back and forth from Rassilon to the Master, her mind racing.

"_He's_ to blame, not me!" he shouted at the Doctor, his eyes widening when he sighed suddenly, realisation crossing his face, "Oh...the link is inside my head," his shoulders slumped slightly, "Kill me…the link gets broken, they go back," the Doctor's face hardened as his hand holding the gun shook slightly, and the Master's eyes narrowed at him, "You never _would,_ you coward!" they stared at each other for a long moment and his face faulted, looking almost fearful, "Go on, then," he nodded to him, "Do it!"

For a long moment the Doctor didn't move, his finger on the trigger twitched as the Hatter shook her head, "Sweetheart, please," she quietly pleaded with him, stepping closer to him, because despite everything that the Master had done, there had once been a time when they had been friends, and she most certainly didn't want to see the Doctor kill him. She swallowed, "There has to be another way…"

Her voice seemed to snap him out of his thoughts and Doctor whirled around again, aiming the gun at Rassilon.

"Exactly!" the Master practically laughed, "It's not just me, it's _him_! He's the link! Kill him!"

The Time Lady sighed heavily, throwing him a dark look, "Oh, would you shut up?" she snapped at him, "Because unless you want to end up annoying me enough to shot you myself, then I suggest you be quiet".

"The final act of your life is murder," Rassilon remarked, eyeing the Doctor, "But which one of us?"

The Doctor's eyes hardened, preparing himself when he heard the Hatter suddenly gasp beside him. His eyes flew to look at her, afraid that the Master had done something to her behind his back, only to see her staring at something ahead of them. He followed her gaze and his entire face softened as he caught sight of the woman standing behind Rassilon lift her head, and uncovered her face, looking back at him with tears running down her face. His Mother.

Movement from the other side of Rassilon caught both their attention as the man uncovered his face, his eyes coming to rest on the Hatter. Unlike the woman, he wasn't crying, but the look on his face was unlike anything the Time Lady had ever seen on his face before, so sad and soft, but yet so proud.

"Father…" the Hatter breathed, her eyes filling with tears as she stared back at the man, hearing his voice whisper through her mind that he was so proud of her. Never before had her Father ever once said that he was proud of her, he hadn't even told her siblings that, and for him to be there, obviously having voted against Rassilon's plan…it was indescribable.

"_Think_," his voice whispered through her mind, "_My cleverest_, _wildest child, you always did allow_ _yourself to be distracted so easily_, _even as a girl_. _You must focus_, _you already know the answer_, _now you need only allow yourself to see it_".

And then…it hit her.

"Doctor," she spun around so fast that she felt dizzy, wincing slightly as her battered body protested, but she ignored it. The Doctor immediately pulled his eyes away from his Mother, his eyes looking a little wetter than normal, and she felt a wave of guilt wash over her for having interrupted them, but she forced it away as she lowered her voice so only he could hear, "The Master's machine, if you shoot it, then the link will be broken. You don't have to kill anyone".

His eyes widened and he smiled slowly, turning back around to the Master, his gun aimed, "Get out of the way," he told him.

The Master eyed him before it hit him what he was going to do, a smile slowly spreading across his face as he dove to the side, just as the Doctor pulled the trigger, and hit the device holding the Whitepoint Star. The device exploded into flames, severing the link.

He and the Hatter turned back to face Rassilon as wind began rushing around them, "The link is broken!" they called to him as he glared at them, furious, "Back into the Time War, Rassilon! Back into hell!"

Gallifrey flickered above them, slowly being pulled back.

"You'll die with me, Doctor and Hatter!" Rassilon shouted at them, raising his gloved hand.

They exchanged a look, unflinching, "We know," they replied.

The Doctor's Mother and the Hatter's Father covered their faces, bowing their heads as Rassilon's glove began glowing…

"Get out of the way," the Master suddenly ordered calmly from behind them, rubbing his hands together.

They both spun around to look at him, their eyes widening into disbelief as they stepped back, watching on as the Master drew his arm back and fired a bolt of energy right into the middle of Rassilon's chest, sending him staggering backwards.

"You did this to me!" the Master yelled furiously at him, "All of my life!" he sent another bolt of energy into his chest with his other hand, "You made me! One!" his face flickered to a skeleton's as he shot another bolt, moving closer to Rassilon, who was sent crashing to his knees, leaning against his staff, "Two!" another bolt, "Three!" and one final blast, "Four!"

With that final bolt, he stepped right up to join Rassilon and the other Time Lords as the white light increased around them, almost blinding the Doctor and the Hatter as they narrowed their eyes against it, watching as the Master was pulled back to Gallifrey with the others, and the planet faded from above them.

…

The Doctor blinked slowly, finding himself lying on his back in the middle of the mansion, the Hatter lying right beside him, slowly blinking awake, too. She meet his eyes and smile at him as she reached out and ran a finger down the side of his cut face.

"Sweetheart, you're alive," she commented, her voice sounding softer than usual, "I thought that…" she trailed off, swallowing hard.

"I know," he nodded, his eyes lighting up as he carefully rolled onto his side, looking over towards the place that the Rassilon had been, "I'm alive," he broke into a grin, his eyes coming back to rest on her as he grabbed her gently, pulling her closer to him, and hugged each other tightly, the Doctor kissing the side of her head, hardly noticing the tangles and knots in it. Slowly, they pulled away from each other as they carefully sat up, "I've…there was…" he shook his head, his voice trembling slightly with relief, "I'm still alive!" he half laughed, half sobbed as the Hatter joined him, when…

Four knocks sounded.

They both froze as the sound of someone knocking on glass echoed through the room. The Time Lady gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in horror as the Doctor's eyes widened, knowing what that sound meant.

Another set of four knocks sounded, and another.

They swallowed and looked over to the radiation booth to see Wilf trapped inside one compartment, knocking. He paused and waved weakly to them.

"They gone, then?" he called to them, nodding when they didn't say anything, "Yeah, good-o. If you could…let me out?"

The Doctor stared at him for a long moment, nodding sadly, "Yeah…" he slowly climbed to his feet, helping the Hatter, who was blinking back tears.

"Only…this thing seems to be making a bit of noise," he continued, anxiously as he gestured around the booth as the machine hummed loudly.

The Hatter swallowed thickly, "It's…ah…" she paused, her voice trembling as she tried to compose herself, "The Master…he's left the nuclear bolt running," she informed him, stepping closer to the glass, "And now…now it's gone into overload".

"And that's bad, is it?"

"No," the Doctor shook his head, "Because all the excess radiation gets vented inside there," he gestured to the booths, "Vincocci glass contains it. All five hundred thousand rads, about to flood that thing".

"Oh," Wilf tried chuckling, "Well, you'd better let me out, then".

The Time Lady looked at him, sighing, "I'm afraid that it's gone critical, Wilf".

The Doctor nodded, "Touch one control and it floods," he added, reaching inside his pocket and pulling out his sonic screwdriver, "Even this would set it off".

"I'm sorry…"

"Sure," he murmured, slipping the sonic back inside his pocket.

"Look, just leave me," he told him.

"Okay, right then, I will," he agreed, smiling bitterly, "Because you had to go in there, didn't you?" he wondered into the middle of the room, not looking at him, "You had to go and get stuck…oh yes!" he paused, swallowing thickly as his bottom lip trembled. He turned around and looked at the Hatter, who tried to give him a comforting smile, "Because that's who you are, Wilfred," he continued grimly, "You were always this. Waiting for me all this time…" he looked down.

"No really, just leave me," Wilf held up his hands, "I'm an old man, Doctor. I've had my time".

"Well, exactly! Look at you. Not remotely important…"

"Doctor," the Hatter cut across him sharply, stepping over to him, and grabbing his hands, making him look at her, "Sweetheart, please, shouting at the world isn't going to change anything," he took a deep breath, closing his eyes tightly as she watched him sadly, "We've both known this was coming…"

"It's not fair," he opened his eyes and looked at her, his voice low, "We had just started, there's so much I can do…that _we_ can do, and now…" he trailed off, a lump forming in his throat.

"Do you really think that this is the end? No, this is just a new chapter in a very, very long story, sweetheart. This changes nothing, it never has before, and it most certainly won't now," she took a deep breath and held out her hand, "So, come on. If we're going to do this, then we might as well do it right now…"

"No," the Doctor's eyes winded and he took a step back, staring at her as he shook his head, "If I'm going to regenerate…then I'm going to do it alone".

"Doctor…"

"Promise me, that you won't trigger your own regeneration," he pointed at her firmly, looking determined, "Promise me, Hatter, because right now the only thing keeping me going is the thought of you," she opened her mouth, looking ready to argue, "Besides…" he smiled slowly, knowing just what to say to make her agree, be it very reluctantly , "…I'm going to need someone to take care of me, and we both know how badly I handle regenerations".

The blonde opened and closed her mouth, her eyes narrowing, "Oh, _very_ clever," she glared at him, looking annoyed, "You just had to go and use solid reasoning against me".

"I know you," he simply shrugged, knowing that she would find a way to get him back later, but he couldn't let her regenerate just because he had, he _couldn't_. This regeneration of hers was still new, she had years left in it, and he wouldn't let her throw all of those years away just because of him. His face turned firm, "Hatter, promise me you won't find a way to trigger your regeneration, that you won't…purposely regenerate. Please, promise me".

She huffed angrily, crossing her arms across her chest, "Oh, and you just had to go and use my own rule against me, making me promise".

"It's the only way that I can be sure," he raised a grim eyebrow at her, "You wouldn't break a dying man's promise, would you?"

Her eyes turned hard, "Really? You're going to use gallows humour?"

"You have, if I remember".

"Yes, but that's me," she sighed heavily after a moment, her eyes filling with tears as she realised that he was right. She never broke a promise if she could help it, and she certainly couldn't break a promise made to the Doctor, especially made before he regenerated…but there also wasn't anytime to argue with him, to shout at him, because Wilf was quickly running out of time. She closed her eyes, resigning herself, before opening them again, and meeting his eyes, "Okay, I promise that I won't trigger my regeneration," she reluctantly assured him.

Relief passed the Doctor's face and he grabbed her, hugging her tightly, "Thank you," he whispered in her ear, holding her tightly for a moment before drawing back, and kissing her tenderly, "I love you".

The Time Lady smiled at him sadly, "I love you, too…" she tilted her head, giving him a threatening look, "You do realise that I'm going to get you back for this, yes?"

He winced and rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh, I know," he groaned slightly, shaking his head as he looked back to Wilf, turning serious, "Live to long, anyway," he remarked quietly.

"No," Wilf called desperately through the glass, shaking his head as the Doctor walked towards the second compartment, the Time Lady right behind him, "No, no, please, please don't!" he tried, "No, don't! Please, don't! Please!"

The Doctor placed his hand on the compartment handle, meeting his eyes, "Wilfred, it's my honour," he told him, taking a deep breath, preparing himself, "Better be quick!" he opened the door and stepped inside, "Three," he pushed the red button, releasing Wilf, "Two," he came running out and joined the Time Lady, who wrapped her arm around his shoulders, struggling to hold back tears, "One…" radiation filled the compartment and the Doctor cringed painfully.

"Sweetheart!" the Hatter cried and ran to the booth, not bothering to try holding back tears as they fell down her cut cheeks, but she could do nothing but watch as the Doctor groaned loudly, sliding down one of the glass walls, and onto the floor, curling in on himself. The Time Lady placed her hand on the glass, desperately wishing she could try comforting him, sobbing quietly as he convulsed with pain.

The lights in the booth died and the humming stopped completely as the power died.

The Hatter stared at him, tears still running down her cheeks, desperate to see him move, even just a finger to twitch to know that he was okay. Slowly, painfully so, he finally moved, and his hand moved away from his head. She sighed in relief, almost feeling weak at the knees just from the force of the emotion.

"What…" Wilf breathed, looking at him as the Doctor lifted his head, and pulled himself into a sitting position, "Hello," he said to him.

The Doctor frowned, looking slightly confused, "Hi".

"Still with us?" he asked worriedly, trying to add a bit of humour to his tone.

He pulled himself up on the controls, eyeing them, "The systems dead," he remarked, "I absorbed it all," he looked out to them, "Whole thing's kaput," he reached out to touch the door, and it opened, "Oh," he sighed, "Now it opens, yeah".

The moment he stepped out, the Hatter flew into his arms, still sobbing softly as he wrapped his arms around her, "Oh, sweetheart," she whispered in his ear.

He drew back slightly, "Don't cry, Hatter," he murmured, whipping her tears away, being careful of her cuts, "I hate it when you cry".

Wilf eyed the Doctor as they turned back to him, "Well, there we are, then," he commented, "Safe and sound," he paused, looking at their faces closely, "Mind you, you're both in hell of a sate. You've got some battle scares there," the Doctor rubbed his face and eyes, pulling them down to reveal a clean, healed face. His eyes winded in shock, "But they've…your face…" he exclaimed, pointing at him, "How did you do that?"

He frowned and looked down at his hands, turning them over to see that all the cuts and bruises had vanished, "It's starting," he looked up at him, "Still…" he turned to the Hatter, who tried to step back, knowing what he was going to do, but he gently grasped her hand, allowing some of his regeneration energy to transfer across to her, healing her cuts and bruises, "There, now," he smiled at her.

The Time Lady gave him a look annoyed, "You shouldn't have done that, Doctor," she frowned at him, "Now you're going to have less time".

The Doctor lifted her healed hand to his mouth and kissed, "It's worth it, so you're not in pain".

She shook her head, glancing at Wilf, "And this is why he's a sweetheart, even when he drives me insane".

….

The Doctor and the Hatter materialised across the road from the Nobles house, and stepped outside. The Time Lady winced as she tried to run a brush through her tangled hair, struggling to unknot it, determined to have it untangled before going or seeing anyone else. They looked across at the Nobles house, spotting Sylvia standing in the doorway, smiling broadly across at them. Wilf waved to her.

"Oh, she's smiling," the Doctor remarked, catching sight of her, and wincing slightly himself, "As if today wasn't bad enough," he shook his head and turned to Wilf, who was eyeing them as if he was worried they were about to disappear, "Anyway, don't go thinking this is goodbye, Wilf".

"We'll be seeing you again, soon," the Hatter added, smiling at him before it turned into a grimace as the brush caught in a tangle.

The Doctor glanced at her, looking slightly concerned, "Do you want me to…"

"Doctor, if you're going to offer to help untangle my hair, I suggest you don't," she warned him sharply, narrowing her eyes, and he quickly held up his hands, knowing better then to push his luck anymore then he had.

"What do you mean?" Wilf asked them, looking in-between them both, "What's that?"

"Just keep looking," the Doctor told him, "We'll be there".

"Where are you going?"

He paused, glancing back at him, "To collect my reward".

They gave him a wave and stepped back inside the TARDIS, closing the door, and dematerialising.

…

The Time Lords carefully edged across a raised platform in an abounded warehouse, sneaking up behind a Sontaran, who was aiming a gun across the warehouse complex to where Martha Jones and Mickey Smith…or Martha _Smith_, as she was known now, were huddled together, peeking around the edge of a concrete wall with guns in their hands, completely unaware of the fact that they were looking the wrong way.

The Doctor raised a mallet in his hand and slammed it right into the probic vent, knocking the Sontaran out. The Hatter grinned and high fived the Doctor, stepping over the alien as they moved closer to the railings, watching the two humans, when Martha looked up and spotted them.

"They certainly do make a good team, don't they?" the Time Lady remarked fondly, giving Martha a little wave. She could already imagine the shocked look on her face.

The Doctor smiled broadly at her, wrapping his arm around her, "What is it with you and playing match-maker?" he raised his eyebrows at her, amused as Martha nudged Mickey's side, drawing his attention to them, "Especially considering how blind you were to my feelings for you".

She shrugged, "I have no idea, sweetheart".

"Hey!" Mickey stepped forwards, staring at them.

The Hatter waved to them again and slipped her arm through the Doctor's as they turned, heading back towards the TARDIS.

…

The Doctor and the Hatter watched as Luke Smith walked down the footpath on Bannermen Road, talking to someone on his mobile. He stepped off the curb, walking across the street, so busy talking that he didn't even look to see that a car was heading towards him. They sprang into action and sprinted across the road, the Doctor grabbing Luke around the middle, and pushing him back onto the footpath as the car's horn bleared as it drove past.

"It's you two!" Luke gasped, staring at them in shock, managing to keep hold of his phone.

The Time Lady gave him a stern look, "Always look both ways before crossing, Luke," she scolded, shaking her head, "Dear me, that could have ended very badly. I dread to think!"

The Doctor took the Hatter's hand, giving Luke a sympathetic look, knowing very well what it was like to be on the receiving end of one of her more motherly rants. He nodded to the teenager as they turned and began walking back towards the TARDIS.

"Mum!" Luke called urgently as he ran back across the street, making sure to look first as he reached his houses driveway, "Mum!"

"What?" Sarah Jane questioned as she jogged out to meet him in the driveway, "What is it?"

"It's them!" he pointed over to the Time Lords, "It's the Doctor and the Hatter!"

She looked over towards where he was pointing, her eyes widening slightly as the Time Lords paused as they reached the TARDIS, and looked back at her sadly. They gave her a little wave, both able to see her face pale, knowing exactly what must be happening, before stepping through the time machine doors.

….

Next, the Time Lords arrived in a space bar were a whole manner of alien races were gathered, but there main focus was on Captain Jack Harkness, who was sitting at the bar, drinking. The Doctor quickly grabbed a napkin and scribbled on it, before passing it to the Time Lady, who jotted something else down, before handing it to the bartender, telling him to give it to Jack.

They stepped around the side of the bar, making sure that he would be able to see them, watching as the bartended passed him the note, and nodded over towards them. Jack blinked in surprise at them and the Time Lady gave him a nod, a cheeky smile spreading across her face. He unfolded the napkin, looking at what they had written:

'His name is Alonzo'.

And underneath, in neat, loopy handwriting:

'Psychic anyone…?'

Jack's head snapped up to look at them, looking bewildered as Midshipman Frame from the_ Titanic_ sat on the barstool beside his, sitting his hat on the bar. The Time Lords nodded pointedly to the man, giving Jack a look as he glanced to the man beside him, and back to them. They lazily saluted him, the Time Lady looking as if she was holding back laughing as Jack straightened, giving them a proper salute, watching until they had walked away before turning to the man…

…

"No, it's not just a story, no," Verity Newman shook her head as the Time Lords stood behind a man who had asked if the book that she had written, 'A Journal of Impossible Things,' was real during her book signing in the middle of a bookstore.

The Hatter was somewhat surprised to discover that Nurse Joan Redfern from there time in 1913 granddaughter, shared striking similarities in looks. In fact, had she not known better, then she might have said that they were the same person.

"Every word of it's true," the woman continued to explain to her fan, "I found my Great Grandmother's diary in the loft, and she was a nurse in 1913, and she fell in love with this man called John Smith. Except, he fell in love with another woman, Ariana Hatter, and they we're from another world," she smiled almost sadly, "She fell in love with a man from the stars," she glanced down at her own book sitting in front of her, "And she wrote it all down".

She quickly signed the book before her and handed it to the man, who thanked her, and took the book, walking away. The Time Lords stepped forwards and slid a copy of the book across the table to her.

"And who's it for?" Varity asked, not looking up as she flipped the front page open, preparing to sign.

"The Doctor and the Hatter," the Doctor answered.

She nodded, "'The Doctor and the Hatter,'" she signed, "Funny, that's the name they used…" she trailed off, pausing as she slowly looked up to them, her eyes flying between them, stunned.

"Was Joan happy?" the Hatter questioned quietly, always having felt guilty for catching John's eye, and in a way for taking his attention away from Joan, "In the end,_ truly_?"

Varity stared at them, nodding, "Yes," she replied, smiling slightly as the Hatter felt a weight lift off her shoulders, "Yes, she was," she looked at them curiously, "Were you?"

The Doctor smiled broadly and took the Hatter's hand, kissing it. They smiled at the woman and took the book, leaving the shop.

….

The Time Lords smiled somewhat sadly as they stood outside the gates of a church in front of the TARDIS, watching as Donna laughed with her friends and family, having just stepped outside the church after her marriage ceremony. She looked so happy and carefree as she posed for photos, happily chatting away to her guests. They had wished that they could have snuck inside to watch the ceremony themselves, even if it was only from the shadows, but the Doctor's regeneration was coming closer, and closer, and there simply wasn't enough time, not when they still had one last stop to make.

The Hatter grinned, her arm linked through the Doctor's as she noticed Minnie throw confetti over Wilf's head as they stood off to the side with Sylvia, who was laughing at her Father's face, when she looked over towards them and froze, her eyes widening as Minnie walked away. She quickly nudged Wilf's side, drawing his attention to them, and began making their way over to them.

"And here you are, eh?" Wilf remarked cheerfully as they reached them, smiling at them, "Same old face, didn't I tell you you'd be all right?" he nodded at the Doctor, "Oh! They've arrested Mister Naismith," he informed them, "It was on the news. 'Crimes undisclosed'. And his daughter. Both of them, locked up," he frowned slightly, looking at them curiously, "But I keep thinking, there's one thing you two never told me. That man and woman. Who were they?"

The Time Lady's smile faded slightly as she glanced at the Doctor, "That man…he was my Father," she replied quietly, looking back to Wilf, who blinked in surprise. She nodded sadly, "We never did have a close relationship. I've spent my entire life thinking that we had nothing in common, and it turns out I was wrong," she looked down at the ground, feeling her eyes prickling with tears, "We were far more alike than I ever thought".

He stared at her, looking shocked, "And that woman…?"

The Doctor cleared his throat, glancing over to Donna, who was busy chatting to another young woman, "We just wanted to give you this," he looked back to them, reaching inside his pocket and withdrew a small envelope, handing it to Wilf, "Wedding present," he smiled slightly, "Thing is, we never carry money, so we just popped back in time, borrow a few quid off a really lovely man…"

"Geoffrey Noble," the Hatter cut in, giving Sylvia a soft smile as she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, "'Have it,' he told us," she continued as the other woman's eyes filled with tears, "'Have that on me'".

They watched as Wilf and Sylvia said there goodbye's to them and walked back up to the church, handing Donna the envelope. She opened it and seemed to frown at their present, a lottery ticket, before shrugging and tucking it down the front of her wedding dress, making the Time Lady laughed again, before marching off, calling to her new husband. Wilf and Sylvia exchanged wide eyed looks, barely containing there excitement as they looked back over to them. Wilf saluted them, looking close to tears as the Time Lords simply nodded, and stepped inside the TARDIS.

…

"Are you sure about this, sweetheart?" the Hatter asked gently as they stood in the shadows of an alleyway on the snowy Powell estate. She cast the Doctor a worried look in the dim light as she had her arm wrapped around his waist in an attempt to help supporting him as he leaned most of his weight against the side of a wall, "You don't have long".

He grimaced as he inhaled sharply, "Just need a minute," he muttered, trying to hold back the pain that was spreading throughout his entire body, growing stronger and harder to control, "I've managed to say goodbye to almost everyone…"

She sighed heavily, hating to see him in so much pain, but nodded, "I understand".

A moment past and he glanced at her, "I never understood something," he commented.

"And that's something new?"

Despite the pain the Doctor laughed, "See what I mean about teasing?" he shook his head fondly, "Anyway, what I've never understood was why you didn't say anything to me about Rose, about the way she treated you?"

The Time Lady gave him a long look, "I didn't want to cause a fight between you two," she eventually replied, "And you know me, I've always preferred to handle those sorts of things on my own".

He went to open his mouth when a voice cut him off, "I'm late now, I've missed it," Rose Tyler's voice drifted to them as they could hear her and another set of footsteps approaching, sounding annoyed, "It's midnight. Mickey's going to be calling me everything, this all your fault".

"No, it's not!" Jackie Tyler argued, "It's Jimbo. He said he was going to give us a lift, then he said his axle broke. I can't help it".

"Get rid of him, Mum. He's useless!"

"Listen to you, with a mechanic!" her voice turned sad, "Be fair, though. In my time of life I'm not going to do much better".

"Don't be like that," Rose sighed as they came to a stop just before the alleyway, giving the Time Lords a chance to see them as she rubbed her Mother's shoulder, "You never know, there could be someone out there".

Jackie shrugged, "Maybe…one day," she tried to sound hopeful, her face brightening, "Happy New Year!" she smiled broadly.

"Happy New Year!" Rose grinned, hugging her, "Don't stay out all night!" she told her as they pulled apart.

"Try and stop me!" she shot her a look as she walked away.

Rose crossed her arms across her chest, trying to keep warm as she began walking over towards her flats stairwell as the Hatter let go of the Doctor and stepped further back into the shadows, knowing that it was important for the Doctor to say goodbye to Rose by himself, but as he stepped forwards, he groaned in pain, slipping slightly down the wall.

Rose turned around, looking surprised, "You all right, mate?" she asked, sounding concerned.

The Doctor quickly straightened, "Yeah".

"Too much to drink?"

"Something like that".

She eyed him, "Maybe it's time you go home," she suggested.

"Yeah…" he agreed.

"Anyway…happy New Year!" she told him cheerfully.

"And you!" he grinned as she turned, heading towards the stairwell again, "What year is it?" he called after her.

She turned back to look at him, her eyes widening, "Blimey, how much have you had?" she laughed and he shrugged slightly, "2005, January the first," she informed him in a clear, slow voice.

"2005," the Doctor repeated, nodding, "Tell you what…I bet you're going to have a great year," he smiled at her.

"Yeah?' she raised her eyebrows, looking amused, "See ya!" she shot him a grin and ran over to the stairwell, opening the door, and looking back at him over her shoulder, before stepping through, and hurrying up the stairs.

The moment she was out of sight, the Hatter ran forward and wrapped her arm around the Doctor, just as he grunted painfully, leaning heavily against her as he placed a hand on the wall, "Shh, it's okay," she breathed soothingly to him, kissing the side of his head, "We can do this. Come on, let's get you to the TARDIS".

He was breathing heavily as they half staggered out of the alley, one hand on the wall for extra support, but soon enough he was forced to let go and lean on the Hatter as they struggled across to the other side of the complex to where they had parked the TARDIS. He winced in pain, grimacing as the Hatter continued muttering soothing words to him, just trying to keep him going, when his knees suddenly gave out and he collapsed onto the snow covered ground with a loud cry, taking her down with him.

The Time Lady, ignoring the pain that the fall had caused to her own body, immediately pulled herself up right, her eyes fixed on the Doctor as she pulled him closer to her, gently rocking him as he groaned in pain, "Just a little bit further, sweetheart," she murmured to him, her voice breaking slightly as she felt tears burning the corners of her eyes, "Just a few more steps…" she trailed off as she looked up to see Ood Sigma standing a short distance away.

The Ood raised his communication orb and it lit up, "We will sing to you, Doctor," he told them, his voice calm as the Doctor lifted his head to look at him, "The Universe will sing you to your sleep".

The Doctor took a deep breath and forced himself back to his feet, leaning against the Hatter again as they staggered determinedly over to the TARDIS as the sound of the Ood singing sounded in their heads.

"This story is ending, but the story never ends," Sigma said as they reached the doors.

The Hatter unlocked the doors and threw them open as they stepped inside. She helped him up the ramp, pulling his coat off as he tossed it over the Y-beam, before glancing down at his right hand and it glowed with golden, yellow regeneration energy. He swallowed and looked up at the Hatter, who tried to give him a comforting smile as tears began falling down her cheeks.

"Everything is going to be okay, Doctor," she assured him gently, "I'll be right here the entire time, you won't be alone for a second, understand?"

He closed his eyes tightly before opening them, his voice trembling, "I'm…I'm afraid".

"Oh, Doctor," she burst fully into tears and threw her arms around, him hugging him tightly as she felt him shaking. They simply stood there for a moment, holding each other until the Doctor pulled back, and stepped over to the controls. She watched as he hit a lever, sending them off into space.

He stared at the Time Rotor, watching as it went up and down before moving back around the console, coming to stand in front of the Time Lady, his eyes filled with tears, "I don't want to go," he whispered to her, sounding heartbroken.

She swallowed a sob, almost shaking as he badly as he was, "I'll be right here," she forced her voice to sound strong as she tried to smile through the tears, "I will see you on the other side, sweetheart".

The regeneration energy began swirling around his face, growing brighter and brighter as the Time Lady took a step back, preparing herself, knowing that because of how long he put it off, it was going to be violent. He took deep breaths and looked down at his right hand and then to the other to see that they were both glowing. He looked back at her, when he suddenly threw his head back, and the energy poured out of him.

Just as the Time Lady had expected, the energy shot out so violently that it exploded the windows on the doors and caused the console to spark violently, fires shot up everywhere as the Hatter jumped back, covering her head with her arms as debris began raining down, and the beams all around the room began collapsing, one just missing the Hatter, who threw herself to the floor.

She winced as she could hear the Doctor shouting in pain, when his voice suddenly changed, and the regeneration cut off. She quickly lifted her head to find herself looking the Doctor…well, the new him, anyway. He looked slightly shorter than his previous self, around 5'11, but looked even more gangly, not to mention younger, appearing to be in his mid-twenties, with thick, dark brown hair that had a quiff to it, his features seemed softer then before with a large chin that she just knew she was going to enjoy teasing him about.

"Legs!" the Doctor cheered almost at once as he looked down at himself, examining his new body, "I've still got legs!" he grabbed his leg and kissed his knee, "Good!" he dropped his leg and began patting his chest, "Arms!" he quickly found his hands, holding them close to his face, "Hands! Ooh, fingers!" he wiggled them excitedly, "Lots of fingers!" he moved up to his face, checking the side of his head, "Ears, yes!" he pressed his fingers to his eyes, "Eyes, two!" down to his nose, "Nose…" he seemed to frown slightly at its size, "…I've had worse. Chin…" he felt his chin, his eyes widening slightly, "Blimey!"

The Hatter pulled herself to her feet, brushing dust from down her front as she stepped in front of him, grinning up at him as he immediately focused on her. Standing in front of him she could see that his eyes were now green, "Oh, dear," she sighed mockingly, "You're still taller than me, this is very unfair".

"Hatter!" he cried joyfully and grabbed her, pulling her into a tight hug, before taking her by surprise, and kissing her, before jolting back, "No, no, no," he shook his head quickly as she blinked at him, "That, much more of _that_, later," he seemed to lightly scold himself, "First, am I ginger?"

She laughed slightly and ruffled his dark hair, "I'm afraid not, sweetheart," she replied and his face fell, "It's brown, darker than before, if anything, but it is a little longer," she raised her eyebrows at him, "What is it with you and wanting to be ginger…well, I suppose I'm the same with wanting an olive skin tone," she titled her head, "It would certainly be a nice change from always being so pale".

The Doctor frowned slowly as he began shifting around the spot, "There's something else, something important, we're, we're, we're…" he began tapping the side of his head when something banged loudly, jolting them as he automatically grabbed the Hatter, pulling her closer.

"Crashing!" the Hatter groaned loudly, pulling away from his arms, and dashing over to the controls, grimacing as she took in the mess they were in.

He, on the other hand, grinned and ran around the other side, looking across to her as they plummeted towards the Earth, "Geronimo!"

_**The next story is called 'Here We Go Again,' which is taken from a quote said by the Brigadier when the Third Doctor regenerated, so I thought it was appropriate…and I kind of ran out of ways to put 'Time Lady' into a story title. So, keep an eye out because I'll be posting the next story in a few hours.**_

_**Aww, goodbye Ten, but…hello Eleven! I wasn't planning to post this quite so soon, but you guys have just been so brilliant, plus, I'm very excited for Eleven. Anyway, we finally got a glimpse of how the Hatter ended up as a human on Earth, a bit of family history, and her dad made an appearance. I've always seen her father as being the parent who actually did care for his children, but was just so focused on his work that he didn't have time for them, while her mother acted like she did because she thought it was how she was supposed to, when she really didn't care very much at all.**_

_**Tell me what you thought, please review :)**_

_**Guest reviews:**_

_**Guest: **__**I've always liked The End of Time, too…though, not so much Ten's regeneration. Ooh, season five is going to be very fun and interesting, I especially can't wait for The Lodger, since I can just see that turning into very fluffy filled chapters. Thanks for the review :)**_


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